


Shattered

by BellamyTaft



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Blood, Body Horror, Dark, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Kidnapping, Mutilation, Pegasus Still Wins, Physical Abuse, Torture, Violence, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-02-26 10:09:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13233510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BellamyTaft/pseuds/BellamyTaft
Summary: The fires didn't take and the plan failed. An alternate ending to Glass in which Pegasus wins and those who survive are left to his wrath.





	1. Chapter 1

"You're not serious," Seto said. "Frogs?"

"Why not?"

"Don't you think you're a bit old for that?"

"I don't want to  _keep_  them. I just want to  _find_  them."

The footsteps behind Seto were close enough Croquet would have caught much of the conversation. A little more argument was all Seto needed to sell it before following Mokuba into the woods. But Wheeler wore two of the bands, so he needed to move farther away before Croquet noticed.

"You don't need me for that."

"No, I  _want_  you for that. It's an important difference."

"Can't argue that," Seto said, then turned around to see Croquet. "Will you be joining the frog hunt?" Seto made sure to keep his voice flat to portray as much boredom as possible.

"No, Mr. Kaiba."

"You'll be missing out!" Mokuba said. He grabbed Seto's hand and started to pull him toward the trees. Seto glanced back to see that the spirit had moved so the Ring wasn't visible, but his expressions were nothing like Bakura's.

They had to start. Now.

"Where should we start?" Mokuba asked. They broke the tree line and heard the four wheelers rev up. Hopefully Téa had already found Yugi and the flour.

Hopefully Torra was awake.

"Let's stick to the path," Seto said for the cameras.

Mokuba agreed, walking down the path Pegasus had cut for them and keeping his eyes on the ground, a hand in his pocket clearly playing with the lighter. The cameras wouldn't be able to tell what it was, so Seto didn't try to stop him and draw attention to it.

They didn't have much longer to keep up the act. If anything gave them away, it was that Seto wasn't where the tracking device said he was. He could only hope that after this long, no one was paying close attention to the monitoring. It wasn't much to hope on. Pegasus was too careful for that. But regardless, he would have to split away from Mokuba.

"Here, Seto! Come on."

"You're going to get us lost—" Seto started, but followed Mokuba off the path, now looking to the ground like he might see what Mokuba was talking about.

"It'll be easier to find them near water," Seto said.

"What water? The ocean? It hasn't rained in ages."

But there was still dew on the ground. Seto hadn't taken that into account. How had he overlooked that? The dew had to have evaporated out from the cover of the trees, but underneath, where their movements could be better concealed, everything was damp to the touch. It would burn, just not nearly as fast.

Seto broke small sticks and thin branches off the trees as they walked. He tried to find ones with dried leaves on the end so he could light the handful like a torch and toss them so the fire would be nudged along. It wouldn't help much, but just one of them had to take well before it all blossomed out.

"Where do you think?" Mokuba asked, looking up at Seto, then pretending he lost track of the imaginary frog. He muttered a "shoot" under his breath and then added, "It probably went this way," leading them farther from the rest.

"About here, kid."

Mokuba stopped. "You think?"

"Now or never."

"See you at the top."

Seto nodded and pulled Mokuba into a hug. There was no point faking for the cameras anymore. In minutes, Pegasus would have people down to chase them.

"Hold out as long as you can," Seto whispered, holding Mokuba close. "If you can't breathe, give up. Run to the balcony. He won't hurt you."

Mokuba nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too. Go."

Seto pushed Mokuba away to keep himself from holding on, taking three seconds to watch Mokuba run ahead before turning to run back the other direction. It was more dangerous this way, back towards Croquet, but if one of them had to be caught, it needed to be Seto.

He pulled out the lighter and held it to the leaves at the end of the bunched sticks and waited for them to light. Once lit, Seto gave it a few seconds to grow before separating the individual sticks, leaving them on the ground as he went. A few of them died out before they could spread, but a couple caught on, edging slowly through the grass.

Seto couldn't wait to see if they took. He had to keep going away from Mokuba, cut off the easy path from the beach to the castle.

When he went to light the next pile of leaves, a hand grabbed his arm. Seto prayed for Mokuba and found Croquet, who had grabbed the lighter and thrown it to the side before Seto registered what was happening.

There wasn't a choice. Seto couldn't give up now, so he did the only thing he could think to do—throw a punch. Croquet had training, but so did Seto, even if his was vastly out of use. He had youth on his side, which gave him the first swing, but not the second.

He shouldn't have counted out Croquet so easily. He realized when the first of the punches hit his face, and truly understood when the second knocked the wind from his chest. Seto stumbled back against a tree and tried to recover, but Croquet pulled out his taser in the time it took Seto to breathe again, and by then, it was too late.

Seto hit the ground and convulsed around the shock, losing his breath again and having to watch the reinforcements flood around.

Maybe someone else had done their part. Maybe Mokuba—

_Mokuba._

His vision was overtaken with a boot coming down on the side of his head.

* * *

 

His head throbbed in the blackness, coupled with a tight sensation through his chest and stomach. Seto tried to reach for his head and couldn't, arms pinned at either side, too tight. He couldn't feel his fingers against the arm of the chair.

What had—?

_No._

Although the light burned, Seto blinked until he could keep his eyes open. He was in the dining room, but not facing the table. A quick side-to-side glance had him sitting at the end of a row of six: Yugi, Téa, Joey, Mokuba, Ryou, and Seto.

_No._

Only Téa was awake, and she arched as far as her matching restraints would allow to meet Seto's gaze. The terror and hopelessness in her eyes was a clear enough sign. Everything had failed. If they had managed to get Duke out, he would have had a chair. Their failure was remarkable in that not a single part of the plan had succeeded.

Pegasus was going to kill them all.

_Not Mokuba. Please not Mokuba._

They woke one at a time, Joey first, and his consciousness came with enough cursing to wake Bakura. While Bakura was the first to wake, the spirit took over soon after, surveying the damage and the restraints. His were more elaborate than the others, and after struggling until Mokuba woke, he surrendered to them.

Mokuba found Seto and shook his head.

"It's okay," Seto mouthed to him. "You'll be okay."

Mokuba seemed to believe it as much as Seto did.

Yugi came to last, and with him, Pegasus arrived. He entered broadly, with heat Seto hadn't realized him capable of. The remaining eye burned down at them, and he walked the line to give them each a moment's scrutiny before settling in on Yugi. Bending forward, Pegasus put his hands on his knees and cocked his head.

"You've been dreadfully bad, haven't you?"

"I just—"

"Shh." Pegasus draped a too-easy finger on Yugi's lips. "There's no need for lying. Not now. Never again, Yugi-boy. If not for your sake, for mine, because I'm in no mood for any more of your silly little games, be honest. Were you going for your Puzzle?"

Yugi choked on a breath and tried to explain he and Téa were looking for Duke, but Pegasus dismissed the explanation. "I have no time for excuses and no reason to risk you getting hold of him."

The gun fired before they could react to it, a clean, painless shot straight through Yugi's temple. Pegasus observed it with the interest of an art critic, taking a bit of blood on his thumb before moving to Téa and dragging it across her forehead.

"Were you helping him, Téa dear?"

"Just with Duke," she said, and her words were almost masked by the petrified breaths coming out every second. Yugi's body was slack in the chair a foot to her left and the gun was still in Pegasus's hand. She shook her head and stretched back as much as the chair would allow, never breaking her attention from Pegasus. Because that was the gist of what he wanted, even after all this time. He was a crazed, lonely man in search of attention Téa was more than willing to offer him.

"You just couldn't help running after him, could you? Our resident dancer just needed to run save the day from the monster."

"That's not—"

He put the gun to her head. "Do  _not_ lie to me."

"We just want to go home."

"This is your home. Haven't I made that clear? Is anyone else here unsure about that?" he asked, and his voice raised to a shout as he finished, but his hand didn't waver. "No? Just you then. Do you want a second chance?"

She nodded, the gun moving along with her.

Pegasus angled it away only to replace it with a gentle kiss. "You won't run from me again."

The next two shots took them all off guard, and Téa screamed once before her voice broke out in hysterics. Seto didn't have an angle to see the extent of the damage, but watched as the rug under her feet turned red. Pegasus got to his knees then, carefully untying her feet and pulling them away from the chair. She screamed, almost silent with her voice so broken, when he did, and hardly had the energy to scream when the lighter came out.

"You did think fire appropriate to use against me, dear."

He took off her shoes and ignited a flame, holding it to the sole of her foot while she struggled to get away from it. But Pegasus held tight and dragged the flame from toe to heel while Téa begged in muted words and pleas for it to stop.

It didn't, not until he had burned off the sole of each foot.

"Take her back to her room—no, put her in the room beside Mr. Devlin. She did want to get to him so badly."

Two guards came forward for her, and when they led her away, she had to be dragged.

Pegasus had put a bullet through both knees.

"Mr. Wheeler," he said, taking a step over to the right, nudging Wheeler's head up with the muzzle of the gun. Wheeler hissed when it touched him and tried to lean back from it, but Pegasus made sure it followed. "You've been listening to some simply wretched advice."

For the first time Seto had witnessed, Joey said nothing.

But beside him, Mokuba had turned his face away. They were all catching on to how this would turn out, and Mokuba was next in line. Seto was going to have to watch Mokuba's punishment. Was Pegasus going to kill him too? Cripple him? Burn him?

With two fingers, Pegasus gestured for a guard to go to the fireplace and take the poker, red hot after having been left in all this time, and bring it to him. Pegasus held it out with a calm examination, then showed it to Wheeler. "You never did learn to listen."

And then he drove the poker through Joey's ear, into his head, and slowly pushed it toward his brain. Joey wailed initially, but long before Pegasus stopped, died.

Mokuba was sobbing by this point, and the tears came harder when Pegasus put a finger under his chin to direct Mokuba's attention back to him.

"You know you're guilty now, little frog."

Mokuba nodded and offered blurred apologies and anything he could say, but so much of it jumbled into incoherent begging that Seto stepped in to blame himself.

Pegasus snapped the gun toward Seto and glared.

"Not a  _word_  from you."

And then he returned to Mokuba, expression softening while he knelt in front of him, setting down the gun to push back Mokuba's hair and wipe away the tears.

"You've been so good to me," Pegasus said. "Haven't I been good to you?"

"Yes," Mokuba choked, and went on and on. "Yes, yes you have. I'm so sorry."

"None of that. What's done is done and you made your choice.  _I_  am truly sorry for not having given you the attention you needed from me. I should have made it clear that you need me. I'm going to be your comfort, Mokuba. I'm going to be all you have."

After a few more moments of trying to quiet Mokuba's tears, Pegasus stood, kissing him on the forehead as he had done Téa, and calling for two more guards.

"Put him in Ryou's old spot."

Seto's body froze, both in motionlessness and in a rush of chilled blood that stole his heartbeat. He caught Bakura's glance from the corner of his eye but couldn't stop staring at Pegasus.  _Not there. Don't leave Mokuba down there._

One of the guards brought out a straitjacket and that settled it. Mokuba cringed away from them when they cut him out of his restraints, and didn't have the strength left to struggle when they fitted it on. They didn't take him before Pegasus had gotten the chance for some final words to him.

"I'll be down soon," he said. "I promise. I am so sorry you trusted Seto instead of me."

And even though Pegasus's words were a clear indication Mokuba shouldn't, he called for Seto while they dragged him out.

Down to the hole in the ground.

Down to live in his own filth for however long it took Pegasus to relent.

_Not Mokuba_.

Mokuba's gaze locked with Seto's. Pegasus could kill Seto in the following moments, and these last seconds might have been all they had left. Seto mouthed, "I love you," and Mokuba nodded before being pulled out of sight.

Pegasus watched Mokuba go, which he hadn't done with Téa, but then stepped to Bakura.

"I should kill you," Pegasus said, bending down to pick up the gun, but put it on the chair Mokuba had been in. "But I couldn't do that to Ryou. It wasn't his idea to get involved, was it?"

"No."

"But that just leaves you. There must be some way to get rid of you."

Pegasus slipped a hand into his breast pocket and brought out a pair of garden shears. "This is going to hurt. Do not disappear until I'm done," Pegasus said, then took Bakura's hand against the arm of the chair and separated his index finger from the others. "Breathe."

And he closed the shears around the finger, working over and over until Seto heard a snap. And even then, Pegasus kept going, breaking through the skin and tendons and veins, finding the joint and working between the bones. Even Bakura couldn't hold together his calm, and by the time top of his finger hit the ground, his pain was audible.

"Stay in control. We have nine more to go."

Seto jerked at his own restraints and couldn't get them to budge even an inch.

"You're not just doing this to him," Seto said. "You're doing it to Bakura."

Pegasus didn't respond until the second finger landed beside the first. "And now Ryou can't be held punishable by  _his_  crimes. And be quiet Seto. It isn't your turn."

The control over Bakura flickered once, and Pegasus caught on the moment it happened. He grabbed a fistful of Bakura's hair and pulled his face in close so there was nowhere else to look.

"Don't you dare put this on him."

"I'm not holding the shears."

Pegasus only cut the next finger partway off before he wrapped his own fingers around it, twisting it until it came off in delicate shreds. Pegasus rubbed the blood from the stump across his forehead like he had done with Téa.

"You did this to him and to yourself."

The rest of the fingers came off with little flourish. After what Pegasus had done to Yugi and Joey, Seto half expected him to kill the spirit on the spot. Only knowing that Pegasus had a soft spot for Bakura gave Seto any pause. Maybe Bakura could live and look after Mokuba. Someone would have to with Seto gone.

Pegasus called in guards to take Bakura. "Put him in Seto's old room. Make sure the hands are bandaged properly."

He watched them drag out a barely standing Bakura, and let his gaze linger seconds after they were gone before turning to Seto. "This is quite a mess you've made." He grabbed Mokuba's chair, now one the only one without blood coating it, and faced Seto, resting his chin on graceful knuckles.

"Speak for yourself while you can."

He wanted to know, but didn't ask what that meant. "We had to try."

Pegasus considered the answer longer than Seto expected him to. "You had to," he said, rolling the words as if getting a taste for them. "We have to do a lot of things in this life, but that, I'm afraid, wasn't one of them."

"They weren't,  _aren't_ , to blame."

"Noble to the end, little prince."

That was it then. Pegasus was going to kill him for doing exactly what he had predicted would happen and Mokuba would be left alone. Would Pegasus tell him?

"Then get on with it."

"So eager to die?"

"Only to end this needless charade."

Pegasus dropped his hand and leaned forward, just slightly, in interest. "What about our conversation do you see as needless?"

"Nothing I say will change whatever plans you've set in mind for me."

Just like before.

"Like asking to see Mokuba usually resulted in what, not seeing him? Or requesting glasses or music or anything else didn't change the situation you were in?"

"Trivialities compared to life or death."

"This has all been life or death. Clearly I've failed to show you that."

Seto gave his restraints a final tug before accepting he was trapped in them. "I'm to be killed for your failure?"

"I never said I would kill you."

Seto's gaze followed Pegasus as he stood, and then while he called in more of his men. The worst of the rooms were all taken, so where could Pegasus possibly be sending him? To Wheeler's dungeon cell? To be chained around the fires that might have possibly took?

"I'm going to be your whole world, Seto."

And before the men reached him, Pegasus placed a kiss on Seto's forehead, accompanied by a whisper, "But you won't be mine."

Then more loudly, "Take him to the infirmary."


	2. Chapter 2

Torra withdrew the needle, the injection relaxing Seto's throat while everything else fought to break out of the restraints holding him to the infirmary bed. They were the same set from before, only this time with added bands at his ankles, knees, and arms. Pegasus's men had cut off his clothes to leave him covered with only a sheet, too thin to protect from the cold or his own paranoia.

And now, as Pegasus pulled up a stool to sit beside him, Seto couldn't make demands or pleas. He tried. He fought for any sound and all that came out was a whisper of a moan. The muted  _nnn_  that slipped through rang weak and broken. But Pegasus didn't mock as he once might have.

"You've gotten off easy, little prince. I do love to spoil you."

Two fingers brought Seto's gaze to him. "But I've gone too far, haven't I? I should have known you would be too greedy."

_You don't have to do this,_  Seto wanted to say.  _We tried and lost._

Even if he could have spoken, it wouldn't have made any difference. What would happen if Seto changed his mind? If Pegasus found remorse? His depression would kill them all the more quickly.

"I should kill you," Pegasus said. "What makes you any different than the others I held accountable?" Pegasus leaned forward, far enough he could put his elbows on the bed. He rested a cheek lazily against a fist, strands of hair sticking out at odd angles. "What am I to do with you now but right my wrong?"

Why ask when he had stripped away Seto's voice? Would he read lips? Would he answer his own question?

"You're scared of me now," Pegasus said. "You never looked scared before. There's part of me wanting to blame myself, but I'm not the one who threatened the lives of everyone here. What if you brought our little world to ash and no one came for you?"

_Someone would have come if the fire had started._

"Did you think yourself very clever, I wonder. You must have. You've always thought so highly of yourself, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, and let Seto look away. "Should I take you only being a boy as an excuse? I was a widower at your age. We were both business owners— _damn it_ , Seto. You were supposed to understand."

Pegasus shoved his hands against the bed as he stood to pace, talking with his hands as much as his mouth. "That makes it worse, you know. I want you to know that. You understand me and you still decided to pull these tricks. You couldn't have hoped it would succeed. No, you wanted to hurt me like you think I've hurt you. But did you ever consider how you've already hurt me?"

Did Pegasus still think Seto cared? Was watching Yugi and Wheeler die supposed to force him to latch on to Pegasus, to accept everything and mourn a woman he hadn't known? He ordered Mokuba thrown into a pit. Seto didn't care how he had hurt Pegasus.

_Just kill me and be done with it._

Pegasus grabbed Seto's face and held it toward him, lifting him slightly up from the pillow. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I always have known. You're not half so clever as you think."

The only response Seto could give, both for lack of options and accuracy, was to shake his head. Whether he was agreeing or not, even Seto couldn't say, but it resulted in Pegasus tossing him back.

"You think you are clever?" Pegasus asked. "You think I won't kill you for sentimental purposes?"

Again, Seto shook his head. He had just watched them die, seen how brutal Pegasus had been with Wheeler. More than that, he knew Pegasus. The madness had always been just below the surface, clawing at any crack for an excuse to break out. Now the pretenses were gone and there was nothing holding him back.

He would kill Seto and not think twice about it. Just like he deserved the glass room, Seto deserved to die.

"You're finally right about something then. How does that feel?"

Seto diverted his gaze and hoped the answer was sufficient enough. Pegasus had gone through the trouble of taking his voice and that alone was the one thing Seto had to cling to. If Pegasus planned to kill Seto, he would have. He wouldn't have bothered wasting whatever drug this was on someone slated for death.

Even that, Seto couldn't bank on. Pegasus had killed Yugi.  _Yugi_ , of all people.

"But what will I do with you?" Pegasus asked. "You've proved to be a great deal of trouble. Are you more than you're worth?"

_Who decided his worth?_  Seto wanted to ask. He wanted to ask a lot of things, things that would surely get him killed if Pegasus hadn't taken his voice. Maybe that was why he had. It was just another thing Seto was certain Pegasus would expect gratitude for.

"You couldn't have done this alone?" Pegasus asked, and the hurt he had claimed to feel resounded. "You dragged Mokuba into this.  _Mokuba_. After your whole speech about how he wasn't guilty and deserved to be set free, you gave him guilt. Is that what you wanted? Did you want to kill him too?"

Pegasus was right. Seto never should have allowed Mokuba to get involved. He excused his stupidity in thinking the plan would work, and now that it hadn't, Mokuba was trapped in the darkness. What would get him out of it? Seto didn't know where the hole in the ground was, and even if he could break free of the restraints and make it to the dungeons unnoticed, they were a labyrinth. Getting through it, getting Mokuba out, getting out of the castle, none of it was possible, and even conquering the impossible left them on an island filled with cameras and guards.

Pegasus knew he had won.

Seto knew Pegasus had won.

_So just get on with it._

Torra had left her tray with the needle and a few other supplies on it, and Pegasus picked up a bottle of eye drops. "I haven't decided if you get to keep these," he said. "You mocked me for missing one enough."

Spinning the bottle between his fingers, Pegasus stared at Seto, but ended up sitting at the foot of the bed. "It took me losing an eye to truly be able to see. Perhaps you need to lose yours to experience the same."

Taking out his contacts would have done the same, but Pegasus knew that. Whatever was in those drops was likely permanent.

Was losing his voice permanent? Seto hadn't considered that possibility at all. He was there to provide Pegasus with company for the rest of his life, and he couldn't very well be expected to do so without his voice. Unless Pegasus had a different idea in mind for him now. Daily torture? A lifetime of solitude? The glass room without the speakers?

As long as Seto was here, maybe Pegasus didn't care anymore.

"I'm likely giving you too much thought," Pegasus said. "Although, you'll be thinking about me more than you would have expected. I'll be your every passing thought, blind or not."

The severity of what Pegasus was saying finally built to the point Seto was only waiting for him to act on it. The part of him that would have egged Pegasus on not minutes before quieted when he realized Mokuba would be left completely alone. He was alone now, but for him to have any hope, Seto had to stay alive. Being blind would help keep him alive, since Pegasus wouldn't find him a threat.

He couldn't ask Pegasus to take his eyes. Even that was too far. But his contacts? Pegasus could take those.

"You deserve worse than this," Pegasus said. He put the eye drops back on the tray. "But what do any of us really deserve? Should I make it painful? Have you go hallucinating your father?"

The pain would be better than the morphine. Seeing Gozaburo standing over him again, after all this time knowing he was dead—

Seto shook his head, to his own thoughts and to answer Pegasus. He would rather die angry than afraid.

"If I decide to kill you, you won't convince me otherwise."

One dip of his head agreed with Pegasus. There might have been dozens of reasons for taking his voice, but that must have been one of them. His only arguments would have been for Mokuba's sake, though. Pegasus must have known he would cave to such a request.

"Luckily for you, and believe me, Seto, you are lucky for this, I still have hope. I know there's likely little chance for you, but I want to believe there is. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part. Who can say?"

Pegasus stood, only to walk up to the top of the bed. "Maybe I'll come back for you tomorrow."

He brushed Seto's bangs back from his face and gazed down at him for a long while. Seto stared back, not sure of how to interpret the expression. There was something wistful about it, as if Pegasus was thinking of the good times they had together, as if there had ever been any. Seto could only assume Pegasus was deciding right then whether Seto would be allowed to live another day.

He left without an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I had forgotten to include an update schedule with my last post. I won't have a strict schedule for Shattered due to the subject matter. My goal will be to update around the first of each month. Sorry this one is a bit late. I had some personal things come up and I'm working to bounce back from them.
> 
> Up next: Téa.


	3. Chapter 3

“My, my, my dear. Just look at how you've painted the floors.”

Pegasus put Téa's plate on the floor, as she would never be able to reach it on the table. There were bloodied handprints on the bed and the chairs, but no evidence she had been able to pull herself up. Her feet and knees didn't seem to be bleeding any longer, but they must have for some time before clotting.

“Let me bandage those for you.”

“You killed him.”

“I merely pulled the trigger. Who is really to blame in his death?”

With palms to carpet, Téa dragged herself back a little more, leaving her chin raised defiantly. “You've always known you were wrong.”

“Is that what I've always known? And here I was thinking something else entirely.”

Despite both of the chairs being dirty, Pegasus sat on the one nearest to her. “Come here and let me have a look.”

“You _killed_ him.”

“And you killed my wife. Let's not pretend to be carrying some noble cause on our shoulders.”

“You can't kill someone already dead.”

“Then why do you continue to remind me of someone already gone?”

“Why do you continue to remind us?”

He crossed a leg over the other and basked in her anger. It was gloriously painted across her squinting eyes, her downturned lip—only one side, he noticed with interest—and her heated glare. She might have killed him in that moment if given the chance. In fact, he thought she would.

But unlike his offer to Kaiba, Pegasus thought she would follow through. Maybe she would paint the floor with _his_ blood to cover the streaks over her own left behind.

“Making a mess of your room only causes a problem for you.”

“I'm not playing your games. I've done nothing wrong.”

“Isn't it funny how after all of this time, Téa dear, you turned out to be the most arrogant of us all? Does cheering on the losing side not fit into your worldview?”

“I thought you cared about Yugi.”

Her voice broke over his name, cracking beautifully. He might have drawn the emotion as a stained glass, and made a note to himself to sketch out the idea of it that night. An angel weeping crystal tears? No, not an angel. Perhaps a martyr for a pointless cause, strung out on a tree.

“We all die at some point,” Pegasus told her. “At least take a pill for your pain.”

“You killed my best friend.”

“Pity.”

“How can you sit there like nothing happened? You killed him. He's dead.”

“Because I know something you don't know. It changes perspective on so many things, if only you'd open your eyes.”

She moved farther back, the blood following her. The motion must have opened up one of the bullet wounds again. Pegasus might have overlooked it if he hadn't known it would be there. He would have to add it to her painting, trimming the edges in crimson.

“What could you possibly think I don't know?”

“That, well, it's a secret. What's life without a share of mysteries?”

Her head shook, once, twice, and a third time, leaving her hair in disarray and one strand sticking out. “You're insane.”

“And you're stuck with me.”

He stood and walked over to her barred window. “Do you think you'll be able to see out eventually?” he asked of her. “You won't rise to your knees, but practicing your upper body strength will help.”

Her silence seemed indicative of the fact she hadn't thought about the future, not in the long term, and not crippled. After being so distraught about losing Yugi, she didn't think about herself. And for that, Pegasus commended her. _Ever the cheerleader._

But it was time for her to be the center of her own story.

“Why don't you just kill me?” she asked.

“Would you like that?”

“Keeping me doesn't make any sense.”

“If I started making sense, Croquet might have me committed. No, I won't kill you. It will just be up to you to make what you will of the little life I give you.”

“You know this won't get you what you want.”

“At this point, I'll take what I can get.”

The dark glint of determination in her eyes, strong through the pain, drew a light sigh from Pegasus, and he drummed his fingers on the windowsill idly. “Why don't you come look?” Pegasus said, and scooted his chair over. He could help her into it, if only she'd let him. “It will make it easier to switch those rags.”

“Why would we make anything easier for you?”

“We? You shouldn't be grouping yourself with those others,” Pegasus said. “It's time you learned that and took it to heart.”

“You can't keep my friends away from me forever.”

Pegasus laughed. “Sweet Téa, who is left for you to call a friend?”

The realization hit her hard, breaking the anger and leaving disbelief behind. How could she be so surprised by that revelation? She watched Yugi die, hadn't she? Perhaps he should have had them all sit in a circle so they could better see, or left her in the room to witness the second death. Had she put enough together to know she was alone now?

“What friends do _you_ have?” she snapped, eyes glistening, but without tears.

“Oh, what was that beautiful phrase Kaiba-boy said to you all that time ago? 'I have what I need?' You'll have to forgive me if I don't remember it exactly, just like I will forgive you for never understanding its meaning.”

He tapped the spot beside him again and gave her a pleasant smile. “You'll get an infection at this rate.”

“Then you shouldn't have shot me.”

“Then you shouldn't have burned my island. How many circles should we argue in before you let me rebandage your wounds?”

Debate ran across her features before she settled. “I won't let you touch me.”

His fingers stopped drumming. “Let's talk through that one, now. You don't let me bandage them and I don't leave you anything to do it yourself. They grow infected and blister, turn a violent red and slowly begin to kill you. I can't have you dying, and so you reach your deathbed only to have me lock you in the infirmary until you're healthy. Is that the option you prefer? Helpless to something as trivial as touch while cuffed down to a hospital bed?”

“You wouldn't.”

“I have before.”

Brushing Seto's teeth had been a particular favorite, prying his mouth wide with his thumb, holding his gaze after giving Seto nowhere else to look, watching him attempt to not choke. Knowing Seto was back in that same bed, ready for the same, almost lessened Pegasus's anger with him.

He wondered if Téa's neck hurt from holding her head so high in a feeble attempt to look down on him while he sat above her.

“This isn't you,” she said. “None of this.”

“No? Maybe I've simply been playing nice all this time.”

“That can still be true both ways.”

“You do understand no amount of talking or convincing me of anything will bring him back.”

Her front teeth brushed her lower lip, maybe a word eager to slip out being bit back down. Pegasus brought up his gaze from her mouth to her eyes. They were almost Cecelia's blue, only a touch lighter.

“You wanted him to come around,” she said. “You wanted him to stay.”

“And he wanted to see us all killed. I've learned my lesson.”

Since Téa couldn't stand, Pegasus went to her to inspect her injuries before confirming they did need attending. The cabinet above the sink in her kitchenette had a first aid kit. It would do her little good out of reach.

“Have you learned yours?” he asked. “Or will we need to try something different for you?”

He gave her a moment to think it over while he grabbed the kit, then sat beside her, legs folded in comfortably. She didn't draw away as expected—she _had_ just insisted he couldn't touch her—but continued to stare. And that would never do. If he had the Eye, Pegasus would have allowed it, but without, he brought a hand to her face.

“Answer me.”

“You killed Yugi.”

“I did.”

Confessing to Joey's death could come later, or never at all. It was best if she believed her own imagination at this point, because the horrors she could imagine must have been worse than reality. She could have believed the rest were dead, that he spared her because of her gender or in memory of Cecelia, although she couldn't have known how little the two of them compared.

But she wouldn't see the others again, so whether she did or didn't know wouldn't matter.

“When will you kill me?”

Pegasus unwrapped gauze to have it ready for him. “Haven't we just gone over this? I have no plans to currently.”

“You weren't planning to kill Yugi.”

“No,” he agreed, and took the bloody wraps from her foot. “Only after he went for the Puzzle. You don't have a millennium item to chase after, do you?”

“No.”

“Then, once again, I currently have no plans to kill you.”

“Just torture me,” she said, anger edging back in.

“You tried to burn me alive.”

“We tried to get Torra to call for help. No one would have been hurt.”

“Except my men down among the flames trying to make sure everyone wasn't caught in a dangerous area. They could have died trying to pull you all out.”

“I wasn't outside.”

“You would rather be included with Yugi-boy's attempt to get his Puzzle?”

She seemed to realize her mistake. “I went for Duke.”

“Of course you did.”

He added an antiseptic to her feet before wrapping them again. In a day or two, he would need to leave them open to the air to heal. But for now, he moved to her knees. Both bullets had gone straight through, and aside from keeping an eye on them, and on Téa to make sure she took her antibiotics, there was little more he could do for them.

“Is he okay?” she asked, lowering her gaze.

“He's exactly as he has been.”

Only now, his door would remain locked. The different was slight enough in word, but enough Téa would have stopped communicating if he told her.

She cried out when Pegasus brushed his thumb over the open wound, and Pegasus pressed down a moment longer before pulling away. “I can get you a painkiller,” he offered. “Maybe two.”

“I won't be able to walk.”

“Likely not.”

“Just let me go home,” she said, a hand covering her eyes. “I need a doctor—a hospital.”

“You think I would have let this happen if I didn't intend this result?”

Pegasus tightened the clean bandage to get another reaction from her. “You underestimated me from the start, took my generosity and compassion as a defining character trait.” He lightly tapped a hand under her jaw to redirect her gaze. “Those were mercy, Téa dear. Mercy you have now proven undeserving of.”

“Then kill me and be done with it.”

“Death is not something to treat with so little reverence. Don't you see? Don't you understand? Death started all of this. It certainly won't end it.”

“You killed Yugi.”

“Say it again.”

It caught her off guard, and Téa shook her head, not in answer, but confusion. “What?”

“Say it again.”

“You killed Yugi.”

“Again.”

“You killed Yugi.”

“Again.”

He made her keep going until she broke, tears coming again, and even then, he made her repeat it a few more times to force the point through.

“Please stop,” she whispered, after having to repeat it for the tenth time.

“Your argument is getting old,” Pegasus said. “Wouldn't you say? Or do we need to hear it a few more times before it's as tiresome for you as it is for me?”

“No more.”

“Very good.”

He finished with her other leg and settled back to look over his work. It would hold for the day unless she kept dragging herself across the floor as she had been. He could call someone in to clean it, but Pegasus didn't want anyone else around his guests. He would be their life, their company, their everything.

They had taken those from him, and he had been lenient too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to attempt to get back on a writing schedule. You can expect an update on Sunday, April 1st. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Your feedback and comments are always appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Going into the dungeons, Pegasus took it all in as if for the first time. He grazed his fingertips over the damp stone walls, listened to the distant drips of water in the cells, and watched the shadows, although they were hard to find with how dark everything was. The deeper he descended, the more he had to convince himself Mokuba deserved to be here. Mokuba had attempted to run, to burn down the island. He did this to himself. 

It wouldn’t be forever, just until he learned. 

“Mokuba,” Pegasus called out, softly, but knowing it would echo down the corridors. “I’m coming toward you.”

He made the mistake of taking the flashlight this time rather than the lantern. The flashlight wasn’t nearly bright enough, and Mokuba wouldn’t see him coming until he rounded the last corner. It always took Ryou several minutes, if not longer, to adjust to even the dimmest light. 

“Mokuba?”

An odd thumping and slight ringing echoed back to Pegasus. He couldn’t pinpoint the source, except that it was coming from the path leading to Mokuba. There was nothing down that way that could have been creating the noise, except for Mokuba himself. 

“Close your eyes so the light doesn’t hurt,” Pegasus said. “Can you tell me if you have?”

The thumping grew louder, and without a response, Pegasus had no choice but to keep going, only with the light angled toward the floor to avoid it hitting Mokuba’s eyes. 

Mokuba was kicking his feet against the iron bars keeping him in place, both at the same time, in a rhythm that only could have make sense in Mokuba’s own mind. He had closed his eyes, rocking his head with every kick. 

“What are you doing, little frog?”

“Singing.”

Pegasus put down the flashlight so it shone on the ceiling, and took out his lunchbox with Mokuba’s food. “I’m sorry I haven’t been down here yet. You know, it’s been hard for me to accept what you did. Harder than the others.”

Mokuba’s head rocked side to side, and he continued to kick. The straitjacket kept his arms wrapped tight, and mimicked him hugging himself. The effect added to the ambiance, to the motions that left Pegasus with a sense of unease. It had only been two days, or it would have been two days come night fall. It hadn’t been long enough for this. 

“Mokuba. Look at me.”

But Mokuba kept rocking, feet hitting the bars and back hitting the dirt wall behind him. Two days wasn’t long enough for this. Was it? Ryou stayed in the same cell for months without breaking down, the spirit as well. Mokuba wasn’t so fragile.

“Here now. I know it isn’t anywhere pleasant to spend your time, but you can get through this. What’s a little darkness compared to an island of fire?”

Pegasus opened the gate to crawl in beside Mokuba. “You’ve gotten dirty, little frog,” he said, and didn’t bother trying to avoid it. “I’ll be back tomorrow to get you cleaned up. It’s a learning curve being down here.”

An arm around him ended the rocking. 

“I’m here with you,” Pegasus said. “You’re never alone down here. Remember that and you’ll be okay. Hold out for me.”

This close, the shadows couldn’t hide the streaks on his face, layers over layers of them, holding onto the dust this cell could never be rid of. Pegasus rubbed a thumb across the cheek closest to him, but already, it was caked on too thickly. 

“You need a bath more than I thought. Have you been rolling around?”

Mokuba’s toes curled around the bars. “It’s bright.”

Relief rushed in at the sound of Mokuba’s voice. Attention had been all he ever really needed, and it was something Pegasus would gladly offer. He knew better now than to stay gone for two days. Had Mokuba found the intentional drip from the ceiling? Ryou had, which was the easiest way to get water to him. But if he hadn’t found it, then Mokuba was two days without water. 

“Let me get you something to drink,” Pegasus said, and cupped a hand to collect the water that dripped steadily. “You must be thirsty.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean we get to avoid a punishment.”

“I’ll do anything. Please. I can’t do this.”

“I know you can,” Pegasus said, and offered the water. “You’re a lot stronger than you think. Once you accept that, you can stop needlessly following others. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Mokuba finished the water in Pegasus’s hand before answering, “We wanted to go home.”

“But I’ve told you at least a dozen times over. This is your home.”

“Our real home. They have families.”

“Then what’s your excuse? Your family is dead, save one.”

Mokuba retreated toward a corner, and Pegasus pulled him back close. “Don’t be like that now. I want to know what you had in mind.”

“Just going home.”

“That’s not an answer,” Pegasus said, leaning forward for the lunchbox. “We’ve gone over this. Tell me what was going on in your thoughts, what was so important that you risked everything.”

“That’s all there was. I don’t know.”

“But you do. Tell me what you were thinking. I need to hear it from you.”

The tears started again, and although Pegasus hated to see them, Mokuba needed to get this out of his system before he could learn and grow from it. Once he talked through it once, maybe every time to follow would be easier. 

“We’re prisoners.”

“You essentially had free reign of the island and the castle. I wouldn’t call that being imprisoned.”

Lunch wasn’t much, just a few crackers, topped with ham and cheese. They were bite-sized for Mokuba’s sake, and Pegasus offered them one at a time.

“We couldn’t leave.”

“You were given the option.”

Pegasus could practically hear Mokuba’s reply, unspoken. Not without Seto. It wasn’t an acceptable answer, said or not. He would come around, Pegasus trusted, but not without more in-depth conversations. 

“What more could I have extended to you?” Pegasus asked. “How much more could I have given you to ease your greed?”

“It isn’t—”

“It is, Mokuba. Answer the question.”

“I don’t know. You did what we asked.”

“That’s right. I did. And what did you do in response?”

Mokuba tried leaning away again, head falling into the drip of water, and for a moment, Pegasus didn’t pull him out. He had to eventually to keep Mokuba’s hair from getting too wet without any way to dry it. To keep Mokuba close, he gave him another cracker.

“Answer the question.”

“We tried to burn it.”

“That’s right. You tried to burn down everything I had built for you and for what? To go to a home that isn’t even yours? You risked your future for the others who would never have done the same for you.”

“They would have.”

“Would they? When have they ever before? Give me one time they put your safety above their own.”

Mokuba’s mouth opened and closed. “They…they would have.”

“Why are you holding onto this? Most of them are dead.”

“You’re asking?”

Pegasus caught his face to direct his gaze over, even though Mokuba had to squint in the darkness. He brushed a stray crumb from his chin. “Walk me through it. Step by step. I want to know everything you were thinking leading up to your foolhardy plan.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve already given me your apologies. I’m asking for an explanation.”

“We wanted to go home. There wasn’t a plan until the very end.”

“Give me the details.”

Mokuba’s eyes rolled up in frustration. “I don’t know. He just said there was a plan and I…I…”

Pegasus brought Mokuba’s gaze back down. “You aren’t going to get into any more trouble. I just want to hear it.”

“I should have said no. I’m sorry.”

“Mokuba. The details.”

Dark strands fell into Mokuba’s eyes, and as many times as Pegasus tried to push them back, his bangs kept falling. They would need to be cut at some point soon. Perhaps all of his hair needed to come off. Ryou’s had been so difficult to keep clean while he was in here.

“He needed matches or a lighter, and he asked Ryou to help. Not Ryou. But, you know. And he got Seto the matches while we were watching a movie that night.”

“That’s better. Keep going.”

“He told everyone right after and we picked what to do. I wanted to stay with him.”

“So you chose to burn down my island.”

Mokuba nodded. “I had to stay with him in case.”

“In case you were caught or in case you died?”

“Both. Please. It’s so dark.”

Pegasus had left the flashlight in the hall, and getting to it meant leaving Mokuba. And even if only for a moment, he wouldn’t do that while Mokuba was crying. Besides, the flashlight did light up the space enough Mokuba would be able to make out Pegasus’s face, and that was all he needed to see.

“You truly thought I was so terrible to you that risking your life seemed the better option?”

“No, I just—” Mokuba’s voice snapped off, and he swallowed heavily enough Pegasus could hear it. 

“You just what?”

“Everyone wanted to go home.”

“And yet we’ve established that isn’t a good enough reason for your actions. You wanted to go back to something lost, and that’s foolish.”

“I know,” Mokuba said, weakly. “I know it was. I’m so sorry.”

Playing with Mokuba’s hair seemed to calm down his fear, so Pegasus left one arm wrapped around him and the other hand messed with the greasy strands by his face. He finished off the few crackers Pegasus brought for him, which hopefully wasn’t too much for his stomach. “It’s good that you know that,” he said. “It’s a very good start. Now, talk me through it again, from the beginning.”

Mokuba stuttered and stumbled for a moment, as if he had forgotten where the beginning was. “I…we needed…we wanted to go back, away from here.”

“That’s right. And then what?”

“We needed a lighter or matches. Ryou’s spirit found them.”

Tsking lightly, Pegasus tapped a finger to Mokuba’s cheekbone. “You keep skipping over an important detail. What do you think that might be?”

“I don’t…the matches started it.”

“But did it? Everyone just magically realized matches would be your saving grace?”

Under his arm, Mokuba’s body tensed, but not for long. The rocking started shortly after, and he went back to rubbing his feet against the bars. 

“We all agreed.”

“But it wasn’t all of you who came up with the idea. Tell me.”

Mokuba shook his head, a pointless gesture since they both knew. They also both knew it was just a matter of time before Mokuba admitted it. And once he did, the words and the revelation would come easier and easier. 

“Tell me whose idea it was, Mokuba.”

“Please. I’m sorry.”

“But it isn’t your sin to apologize for, now is it?”

“It didn’t work,” Mokuba said, pleaded, actually. “Why doesn’t it matter?”

“Sweet child,” Pegasus said as he tightened his grip. “It matters more than I can express. Answer my question.”

“We all wanted it.”

“Whose. Idea.”

Don’t lie to me, little frog. You know I know and I know you know and we both have to live with that unfortunate truth. So don’t you lie.

“Seto’s at first, but it was all of us. Please. It wasn’t just him. Please. Please.”

Thank you.

“There now. Don’t you feel better having said it? Isn’t that a weight lifted from you?” 

Pegasus settled Mokuba more easily under the crook of his arm, steady, to stop the rocking. “Confessing it doesn’t change anything, you know. No one will be punished for the truth.”

“I didn’t think anyone would be…that we might hurt…”

“But our actions all have consequences,” Pegasus said. “Certainly you’ve heard that before. Or you’ve at least heard not to play with fire or you might get burned?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I believe you. But you’ve taken on guilt and that can’t be overlooked.” Pegasus gazed out into the dim hallway in front of them for a few moments. “While I’m down here keeping you warm, why don’t you talk me through it again, from the beginning.”

Mokuba started faster this time around. 

“Seto had the idea. Rou’s spirit helped him get matches and we all had a job.”

“That’s good. Keep going.”

“They all wanted to go,” Mokuba said, and then again, and again. “It felt right.”

The new bit of information was intriguing, and Pegasus latched on to it. “What about it felt right? Did it feel like you were back in charge? Like you weren’t stuck anymore?”

Mokuba shook his head. “Going back felt right.”

“Even after all that time?”

He nodded.

“What a pity. But that’s what it was, wasn’t it? Pity? Pity that had me let out Seto before I wanted to, that gave you all those nice things, that built a room custom for everyone, that let you all visit? Don’t fear now. I can feel you shaking. I won’t give in so easily this time, so you have nothing to fear.”

“Please don’t leave me.”

“It isn’t forever, little frog. You need the time to think, and I truly believe you can only get that on your own. Don’t cry. A little solitude never hurt anyone.”

But Mokuba did cry.

“It’s too much,” he whispered. “Please.”

“I need you to trust me. I’m only doing what’s in your best interest. You can’t honestly think I want you down here.”

The tears didn’t stop, and Mokuba was crying too much for company. 

“Very well then. I’ll visit tomorrow for that bath.”

Carefully—although he was already filthy from the short time in the hole—Pegasus crawled out, and had to swing the door closed behind him to keep Mokuba inside. 

“No! No, please! Don’t leave me. Please don’t go. Don’t leave me here please!”

Pegasus took the flashlight and aimed it away from Mokuba, behind himself, so Mokuba couldn’t see just how much this was hurting Pegasus. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow.”

He turned heel and left, Mokuba’s screams echoing behind him all the way upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> You can expect an update on Sunday, April 29th.


	5. Chapter 5

Pegasus turned on the speaker, smiling at the familiar crackle. He had almost forgotten the visits and all the little details of them, but now, he would get to reacquaint himself with the glass room, with the obstacles and victories that came with learning someone from inside a cell.

Though, it still was an adjustment to see poor Ryou on the other side. 

“How are you feeling?” Pegasus asked, and knelt to the hatch. 

“You cut off my fingers.”

“And now he isn’t a threat to you. Come here and hold out your hand.”

Ryou came over slowly, and when he did as ordered, Pegasus frowned. “Your bandages need changing again. Swallow these.”

The painkillers would do little more than take the edge off. Pegasus flicked the straw in the cup of water as another order for Ryou to take the medicine. And while Ryou did, fumbling to pick up the glass between his palms, Pegasus pulled over the small first aid kit. 

It wouldn’t be long until his fingers healed and he regained a little mobility. Pegasus had only cut them down to the first knuckle, so in a few weeks, he would be able to hold a few things with relative ease. But his darker half wouldn’t be able to do anything useful. How could he pick locks without sensation or fingertips? What more could he do than survive?

“Can you manage a fork?”

Ryou shook his head.

“Another shake then,” Pegasus said, and passed it through. “And did you notice? Those reusable straws came in, just like you asked for.”

“Thank you,” Ryou said, softly.

“Shake first?” Pegasus asked, and Ryou picked it up the same way he had the water. If not for the wall, Pegasus would have fed him like he did down in the hole where Mokuba was still singing. 

“Do you like the music? It’s grown on me these last few days.” Ryou never seemed distracted by it as Seto once had been. 

"It's repetitive," Ryou said. "And too quiet at times."

"That's easily changed. Is there anything in particular you would rather listen to? EXO? Drake? The Beach Boys?"

"Whatever is easiest for you."

"You're much more cooperative than Kaiba-boy. I’ll be sure to get a varied selection, and you can let me know anything you want added or taken off.”

Rather than answer, Ryou kept sipping the protein shake. Pegasus had blended in a mix of vegetables, but if Ryou had a problem with the taste, he said nothing of it. Once Pegasus was able to have full meals for him, Ryou might start to get back to himself. 

As much as anyone could, having an evil spirit possessing them. 

Pegasus listened to the music while Ryou finished the shake, and then took it from him when he passed it back through. “Was that filling enough?” he asked. “Or should I make you another?”

“That’s fine.”

“Can you feel the medicine taking effect yet, or is it still too soon?”

“I feel fine.”

If the lie hadn’t been so poorly told, Pegasus might have commented on it. 

“You’re much too amiable right now.”

“Should I curse at you?” Ryou asked. “Reopen my fingers clawing at the glass with nubs?”

His words were so tired and soft, it was hard to tell if he was being genuine. His desperation from the hole in the ground seemed such a distant memory, like it had come from another person altogether. 

“I would rather you didn’t further injure yourself, but speaking of, let me have a hand to rebandage.”

Ryou offered his left first, and kept up his same, forlorn attitude. The longer Pegasus paid attention to it, the more unbearable it became. It was the best situation of all Pegasus’s remaining visitors, and yet, Ryou couldn’t get past one little series of injuries that were for his own good. It could have been worse, Pegasus considered saying. He could have burnt the soles of his feet off. 

“You aren’t getting them wet, are you?”

“Yes.”

“Ryou.”

“I have to wash my hands. They’ll get infected one way or another.”

“You must know I won’t allow for that,” Pegasus said, leaving the last of the dirtied bandages in a pile to begin disinfecting his fingers. “I can change them out more often, and you’re on the antibiotic.”

“You’ve thought of everything,” Ryou said, turning his face away.

“And you’ll be surprised to learn I’ve recently decided that I don’t know everything. You lot proved that to me thoroughly.”

Pegasus might have been a bit too rough with Ryou’s hand, but pulled him back when Ryou tried to withdraw. Ryou’s petty anger wouldn’t led to his death. Vaguely, Pegasus recalled Seto’s list of ways to kill himself in this room. Should he have accounted for them all? Put a camera in the bathroom to be sure he didn’t try anything?

To be sure the spirit didn’t try anything?

“Do you play chess?” Pegasus asked. 

“No.”

He began rewrapping Ryou’s fingers. 

“I could teach you. I’ve become quite a proficient these last years.”

“Don’t bother.”

It was hard not to smirk. Even when Ryou was being snippy, he was giving Pegasus what he had asked for. Being less amiable was still being amiable since Pegasus had asked for it. 

Ryou was easily the best of all of them. It would be forever a shame that he was the one who had been possessed. Kaiba-boy fighting possession would prove much more interesting.

"No? Very well then. I promise, you won't have to look at a single chess board. In fact, maybe this room is too white for all of that. Does the combination of the black shirt and white room make you think of a chess board?"

Ryou finally looked back at him. "I didn't say it offended me."

"It sounded that way. In fact, I'm going to show the recording to all of my men and have them agree with me."

"You're paying them."

"It is incredibly difficult to find paid help who will disagree with you," Pegasus said. "But I can't say my lack of men who meet that criteria stems from a lack of effort."

"I don't want to play any games. That's all."

"No games? It's almost like you forgot how I make my living."

"Are you living?"

Pegasus leaned back to brace the surprise, unable to process the reply as quickly as it had come. But he had to get settled again before Ryou understood the impact of his statement. It hadn't been meant like that. Ryou wouldn't have intentionally said anything to that effect. 

"I assure you, we will live a long life together."

"And if I decide I would rather not?" Ryou asked. "What then?"

"Then you'll end up like Kaiba-boy, which you do not want."

Ryou offered his other hand and looked over Pegasus's work on the first. It looked the same as it always had, but he gave no comment regarding it. 

"Maybe I would."

Pegasus met and held his gaze. "You don't."

Because Seto hadn't gotten close to the emotional level he needed to truly ask for forgiveness. Nothing Pegasus could do could force him to it. Seto would need to come to the resolution on his own, and that meant time, well, time and a change of scenery. 

How much time could Pegasus give him before growing tired of being spun in circles? Seto's only current goal was to get to Mokuba, and Pegasus didn't know how to break that connection with them apart. 

Having them together would have been too simple. While the challenge was exhausting, Pegasus was up for it on most days. And on the days he didn't care to deal with them, they would survive. 

They would all survive.

"How do they look?" Ryou asked. 

"Like they are healing. Not quickly, but soon we won't need the bandages."

Ryou nodded as if he cared. 

"Now, Ryou. Don't be like that. I don't need my eye to see that attitude coming right out. You are healing and that is wonderful."

"Wonderful," Ryou said. "Forgive me for not having noticed."

Pegasus chuckled and finished the last finger. "I wonder if it is just this room that makes you act like that. Do you have good memories from inside, feel safe, or maybe you're just channeling its most recent occupant?"

"Maybe I'm done acting."

"You won't convince me it was all an act," Pegasus said. "So don't even try it. You'll only upset me."

Ryou's eyes darkened, too dark, and Pegasus closed the hatch. There was nothing that spirit could do to him now, but there was no reason to chance it. 

And there was no way to get the ring back now. 

"Of course he was acting," he said. "He isn't as weak as you want him to be."

"Isn't he?" Pegasus asked. "Look down at your hands and tell me how strong you are."

"I don't need fingers to kill you."

"But a glass cutter might come in handy," Pegasus said, then laughed at his own pun. "My, my. I think this is the first time your appearance has boosted my mood. Why don't you come around more often?"

The spirit's anger radiated through the glass, and for a moment, Pegasus thought he might have followed through on Ryou's idea to claw at the glass. But if Seto never found a way to take it down, the spirit wouldn't come up with something. 

"You won't get away with this."

"We're far gone from that. I have gotten away with it. This is your present and future, all you have and all you will be."

He stood to look down at the spirit tormenting Ryou. "You never were anything and now you never will be. You're trapped, thief king. Trapped and helpless, and I am the only face you will ever see again. Isn't that something? Your entire existence reduced to me and this room, to whatever tokens I bring our little Ryou. Does he share everything with you, I wonder."

"You'll get bored. You'll slip. You did before."

"And I've learned from it. Why does no one think me capable of genuine change? I've learned my lesson, and now, it is time for you to accept yours."

The spirit shook his head, and without the straitjacket, released powerful energy, to the point Pegasus wondered if he should be standing so close to the glass. He wasn’t weak now, and his strength would only grow with time.

But that was ridiculous. Nothing could happen through the glass wall. The trouble had only started when Pegasus let Seto out, and he wouldn't be making the same mistakes again. 

They had taught him well. He would be certain to do the same for them. Maybe tomorrow, Ryou would find a mild sedative in his shake. 

And every day after.

"Do you expect him to love you?" the spirit asked.

"That would be absurd. I expect his fear. Perhaps it will blossom into respect, given time, although I'm not counting on it. Did you ever expect him to love you?" Pegasus asked, attempting to regain what semblance of control he had before. 

"It is no business of yours."

And with that, Pegasus had his upper hand once again. 

"Every ounce of you is my business. You still don't see it?" He stepped closer to the glass. "You are mine and your host is mine and even this room that will be your home is mine. Think on it. Hard. No, no. Don't go changing the subject you started us upon. What do you think it means if everything in sight is mine?"

The spirit didn't answer, so Pegasus went on. 

"It means, dear one, that your memories are mine. His hopes and fears, your weaknesses and struggles. I will be on the receiving end of everything you do—forever. And isn't that the saddest thing you've ever heard?" Pegasus asked. "That's his future because of you. Surely you care about him, even in a minuscule way, after all this time? He's destined to a life of misery and only my company because of your actions. And you know, I don't know if I would hate you more or less if you gave a damn."

Pegasus uncrossed his arms, since he hadn't realized he had been. "Now run along."

To his amazement, the spirit blinked, and left Ryou in his place. 

"I heard all of that," Ryou said, and sat back down. "Don't pretend it didn't happen."

"It's all the truth. I won't pretend to blot the truth from our history."

Something about what he said got a sad smile from Ryou. "Is it always going to be like this?" he asked. "Or are you going to end up staying longer than before?"

"Do you want me to stay longer?"

"If it's between that and staring at a white wall while listening to classical music? Yes."

"Well, those are your choices."

"Stay."

It never would stop delighting him to hear them ask that. Maybe soon, they would all end their sessions with the same plea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> You can expect an update around Sunday, May 27th.


	6. Chapter 6

Days had passed without sign of Pegasus, and when he came in, Seto couldn’t bring himself to ignore him. This was what he had feared happening back in the glass room. Pegasus had symbolically turned off the speaker and Seto left on his own, and even coming back now wasn’t a guarantee it was over. 

Pegasus dragged a stool to the side of the bed and sat, giving Seto an interested stare. 

“Are you ready to talk?”

_Are you?_

“I am,” Seto said, relieved to hear his voice had come back fully. 

A few nods, and Pegasus’s position relaxed. “That’s good. I think honesty will do you a service.”

Pegasus held down the button to lift Seto’s bed so they could talk eye to eye. It was the first Seto had been able to sit upright since the day of their botched plans, and the shift disoriented him for a moment. 

“You knew we would try,” Seto said. “You knew from the start.”

“You didn’t take the gun.”

“It wouldn’t have given me a chance.”

“I didn’t think I was giving you a chance during Duelist Kingdom, but you made one for yourself. I expected you to then.”

“You expected me to shoot you?”

Pegasus closed his eye for a moment, as if savoring the idea. “Or shoot through the door where you knew Croquet was waiting. Maybe shoot yourself for sympathy. I expected any number of responses.”

“I didn’t expect you to kill them.”

The slight tilt of Pegasus’s head seemed to say more than he did. “It had to be done.”

“That's a convenient excuse.”

“You really believe I would wait for an excuse?”

“To keep the rest of us in line,” Seto said. 

Pegasus ran a finger along the restraint at Seto’s wrist, eying it with pride and an equal portion of resentment. “You got everyone into this mess. I should have put the first bullet in you.”

He wouldn’t. 

“You still have the ability to.”

“But then we wouldn’t get to have these lovely, _honest_ , conversations with each other. Let’s get back to your mindset the day you decided to burn our world to the ground.”

“What was in your mind when you decided to ruin ours?”

Pegasus flicked Seto’s cheek, and it stung for several seconds. “Hush now. Answer my question.”

“I can’t do both.”

And that got him lowered back down. “This isn’t helping your case. I’ve gone easy on you, little prince. You’ve conditioned me to spoil you.”

“You don’t really have Mokuba in that hole.”

“Tell me what was in your mind that day, Seto.”

“Getting him home.”

“No, that wasn’t it, because I already offered to let him go home. Your motives were selfish and you’re lying with your brother’s wellbeing,” Pegasus said, scooting the stool closer to lean in. “Tell me the truth.”

“He deserves an actual life.”

“Lie.”

“You know I will always put him first.”

“But you don’t. You put yourself first in this foolhardy escape. You’re selfish, Seto. Why is that so hard for you to admit?”

Seto's neck began to ache from holding his position, but he couldn't do more than angle it side to side, stretching it slightly before returning to the same spot. “You’re wanting me to admit something I don’t believe in. I don’t believe I killed your wife. I don’t believe wanting to get away from you is selfish.”

“Be careful now,” Pegasus warned. “It would be wise to refrain from mentioning her.”

“It’s ridiculous for you to expect us not to talk about the central reason we’re all trapped here.”

Pegasus tutted at Seto and crossed a leg over the other. “You’re trapped here because of your betrayal of trust in trying to burn down my island.”

“And why am I in the infirmary rather than my old room?” Seto asked. “You said it was designed to break me.”

“It was. I suppose that I technically did tell you I would double your time spent in there, which would put you at...two years? No, no, now I went easy on you last time. That one should have been eighteen months, so three years. I could, you know. Put you in there for three years, then move you back here and pick up where we are now.”

“Then you’ve decided we’re past that point?”

Pegasus took out his phone and began scrolling through something Seto couldn’t see. It kept him from answering right away, and left Seto waiting on an answer he wasn’t even sure would come. The seconds past, then minutes, without a reply, without so much as a glance in Seto’s direction. 

When Pegasus put down the phone, Seto kept waiting. It felt like he was supposed to wait rather than prompt the question again, although he couldn’t pinpoint the reason why. 

“We’re going to have a new relationship, you and me. You won’t like it, but you will comply.”

Again, Seto waited, this time, expecting an ‘or else’ to follow. 

Pegasus took a deep breath, held it a moment, and released it slowly. “I suppose I’m guilty of underestimating you, if that is a thing a person can be guilty for.”

“You built a custom cell for me.”

“No, little prince,” Pegasus said, a soft smile at his lips. “I didn’t underestimate you physically, or strategically, or manipulatively. You had more willpower than me in the end. You acted a fool and I bought it face value. I didn’t think you were capable of reducing yourself to such depths, but now I know.”

He leaned in to play with Seto’s hair, twirling it around a lazy finger. “There’s nothing you can do now to sway me, be it next week or ten years. I can’t pity your choices any longer.”

“Do I still have any choices?”

“I’ll humor you with them,” Pegasus said. “I truly will.”

The laugh came unprompted. Seto couldn’t stop it from slipping out and once it was gone, there was no taking it back. “It’s a relief to hear you finally say it." 

“Oh, Seto. I wish you hadn’t forced me to this.”

“I’d rather it hadn’t come to this,” Seto agreed. 

He stared up at the fluorescent lights, wildly out of place in a stone castle, and watched one of them flicker. He should have started with the fire at the edge of the forest, where the sun had dried out the leaves and the flames would have taken hold. He wouldn’t have had the same cover, but it would have worked, and he would have gotten Mokuba home safely. Pegasus would have been behind bars and the others wouldn't have been killed. 

“Your motivations are all wrong. If I could only find a way to set them straight for you, we might be able to make process, but you’re too far gone.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because, Seto. I wanted so much for you. Call me an optimist if you’d like, but there must be some sort of…” Pegasus rubbed the corner of his eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t given up on you although you’re hopeless.”

“What’s to be made of a hopeless cause?”

“I like the way you phrased that. I will make something of you, Seto. I will find a way to make something good out of this situation, and I can’t tell you what that will be yet. But I promise, I will find something.”

Seto turned his head toward Pegasus, one of the only movements his position allowed. “That seems a lot of effort.”

“What more do I have to do with my days?”

“Plenty, I’m sure. I’m not your world, after all.”

It drew a smile from Pegasus. “No. You’re not. And that does leave you in an interesting position. You’re not my world, but also hopeless. How charitable I am.”

“When did you decide I was hopeless?” Seto asked. “Not a week ago you said you had hope.”

“But those are two different things, little prince. You can be hopeless and I can have hope despite you. It may be a vain hope, but I’ll see it through.”

Pegasus reached forward, and Seto had no way to move back from it. His fingers found Seto’s throat, first touching the space Torra had stuck him with the needle, and then tracing around where Seto knew he still had the scars. He missed his old clothes, with the high necklines that kept them covered, even if the marks were faint.

“Maybe your father was right,” Pegasus said. He tapped his finger a few times before pulling back his hand. “You do need a strong hand, or you get lost in your own head. Nothing good has ever come from that.”

“Even you can’t believe that’s true.”

“Isn’t it? When did you create SolidVision? When did you prove yourself fit to lead? When did you take control of KaibaCorp? All of that was under his thumb, and what have you done with yourself since? Lose dueling tournaments and make pretty holograms? There’s no shame in admitting you thrive with all self-control lost.”

“I did plenty without him.”

“Did Mokuba get kidnapped under his watch or under yours?”

“Don’t.”

“How many times did you let the person you supposedly care about more than anything get taken? Why couldn’t you protect him, Seto?”

“I did protect him.”

“And look at where you two are now.”

Seto tugged at the restraints in vain, imagining how he would carve Pegasus’s other eye out. It wouldn’t have been difficult given the chance, even one hand back and he could have it done in a moment. 

“Does that anger you?” Pegasus asked. “Why is it that you only get offended when faced with the truth?”

“It isn’t true.”

“You told me once you knew your own worth, but never told me what that was. What are you worth, Seto Kaiba? Much less, probably, than you probably are willing to admit.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Then prove it. Tell me anything that will change my mind. You were great once, under Gozaburo’s rule. You might have outgrown him, might have outsmarted him, but you needed him. And without him, you floundered, only building on past accomplishments and struggling to keep your head above water. I do truly believe now, that if he hadn’t died, you would be somewhere else. You would have been great, fearsome, terrible, and not on this island.”

“What does this have to do with anything?”

“It settles a thought I didn’t even know had been building inside my mind for some time. It’s what allowed you to make your foolish attempt to escape. I went easy on you, and that’s when you act recklessly. Stupidly. With strict rules and oversight, you’re your best self. And maybe there’s my hope.”

“You hope that if you pin me down, I’ll obey?” Seto asked. It was hardly a hope, but more common sense. Pegasus had Mokuba hidden. Of course Seto had to obey. 

“No, sweet Seto. That isn’t it at all.”

Rolling his eyes, Seto went back to staring at the light. “Then what? If I’m nothing without Gozaburo, how is there hope?”

“Your father was a peculiar man. You chose him and he made you unstoppable, while he lived, at least. You molded yourself to his needs and became great.”

Pegasus smiled again, and brushed his hair back from his face, only for a moment. “It means you can do it again. It means there is hope. Not for this version of you, no, but for what you might become.”

“And what might I become?” 

“Mine, Seto. You’ll be mine and still you’ll pray for more of me.”

Seto didn’t move, not even a flicker of his eyes, while he took it all in. Arguing was the easiest option, but Seto needed Mokuba somewhere safe, and he wasn’t there yet. How deep could he fall into Pegasus’s world before he lost sight of his final goal? Because now, it was apparent Seto would have to do just as Pegasus said, and in doing so, push down his own motives in exchange for Pegasus’s. 

And somehow, in the end, break out of it to take Mokuba and run. 

Pegasus stood before Seto could answer. “I’ll be back shortly. Try not to long for me too dearly.”

Like he had been doing for several days, Seto waited. It might have been a couple of hours, but the light through the window didn’t seem to change. For as dramatic as Pegasus made his departure, Seto expected him to be gone longer than he was, but when he came back in, Seto wasn’t ready for him. 

Pegasus went to the eye drops first, the same bottle he had threatened Seto with before. 

“Have they taken out your contacts already?”

“No.”

“Don’t flinch.”

And while Seto thought about keeping his eyes closed, it wouldn’t do him any good. The guards had pulled out his contacts before, and his struggles hadn’t stopped them then. 

The world blurred when Pegasus took them out, and Seto blinked a few times, not allowing himself to squint in Pegasus’s direction. 

“They aren’t permanent,” Pegasus said. “I think you could use some time to yourself. Truly to yourself.”

Pegasus put a drop in each eye, and it forced Seto squeeze his eyes shut. The light overhead still made his eyes ache, but the dilation would wear off after a while. It wouldn’t be forever. Seto believed that much was true.

“I probably shouldn’t have started with that one,” Pegasus said. “I had intended for you to see the rest of this before I went.”

A set of headphones came next, large ones that fully covered Seto’s ears, cushioned enough he assumed they were noise cancelling. If Pegasus wanted to isolate Seto, this was certainly one way to go about it. And just as Seto was thinking he could probably knock them off if he could get the right angle, something was wrapped around his head to hold them into place. It was nothing uncomfortable, some sort of strap, but secure enough they wouldn’t budge. 

Seto thought it was over up until he felt the hands at his throat. 

“No—”

Pegasus lifted his head to get the collar around, then let Seto rest again. 

“Don—" The first syllable was cut off with a staggering shock, and Seto tensed while it jolted through him. Even when it was finished, he felt the sensation in his fingertips and toes, and he felt the buzz against his throat as if the collar was waiting for a chance to strike again. 

Without warning, Pegasus’s voice filled his ears. “The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter One.”

Whether Pegasus stayed by his side or not, Seto didn’t know, and he wasn’t given the chance to ask how Pegasus thought this would be time considered truly alone. The volume overpowered the rest of his thoughts, leaving Seto to listen to Pegasus's narration, rather than the self reflection Pegasus normally left him to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Your feedback is always appreciated.
> 
> You can expect an update around July 1st.


	7. Chapter 7

“Good morning, love. How are we feeling today?”

“Psychotic, deranged, delusional.”

Pegasus smiled before taking his seat at her little table, pretending like he didn’t notice the smell. But he had noticed days before and it was just a matter of time before Téa commented on it. Certainly she had noted it, but would continue pretending it didn’t bother her.

“Should I have you medicated for all of that?”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt to keep it on hand.”

Téa’s grocery list was ready for him, written in neat print on her little notebook. His gaze idled over it, always watchful for the things she might try sneaking past him. This was just a list of food, unlike the cleaning supplies requested last time.

“Does Torra need to come in to see to your feet again?”

“No.”

She sat on the bed, legs pulled up with her feet splayed on either side of her. It looked dreadfully uncomfortable, but it did keep pressure off her scarred soles. He thought they had healed as well as they ever would, enough she could make it a few steps here and there. And without being forced to crawl, her attitude had dropped into bitterness he didn’t know she was capable of.

“If you’re sure.”

“So you can go.”

“I’m not here to talk about your feet.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve figured out that much.”

“Just like to hear your voice?”

“I was going to ask the same.”

Sometimes, it was easy to forget how young they all were. His guests possessed such maturity for their age, but the more frustrated they became, the more they regressed. It might have been charming if it didn’t make them so insufferable.

“Let’s talk about something more pleasant,” Pegasus said. “How are you liking that book?”

“I haven’t read it.”

“Then what have you been spending your days with? Prying at the window bars? Tunneling through the walls? Imagining various ways to kill me?”

“Something like that.”

“That must be positively boring. Tedious. Mind numbing. Why don’t we brainstorm ideas for more invigorating activities? I could fly in a treadmill for you to crawl on.”

“Fuck you.”

Pegasus uncrossed his legs and straightened his back. The rush of irritation that normally passed without lingering too long flooded him. It bubbled and built, filling him and causing his vision to darken. She became a distant point of focus, blurring into the rest of the furniture.

“You look so disheveled today,” he said, standing. Pegasus delayed a moment to straighten his pants and give her a burning, but mockingly polite stare. “Let’s get you fixed up.”

She recoiled at his words, but it didn’t dissuade him. Pegasus went into her bathroom and found her brush.

“Sit on the floor,” he ordered, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m not playing your games.”

“You’ll play every one, my dear. Get on the floor or I’ll take your bed for a month.”

It shouldn’t have surprised him how long it took her to comply, but he had gone too easy on her. Being soft on the only girl made sense to him, but spoiling her didn’t. Maybe he could find a middle ground where he could keep a firm hand and dote on her at the same time.

Once she was on the floor, Pegasus situated her between his legs and began to brush her hair, humming Chopin under his breath.

Her body remained tense under his touch, but that didn’t stop Pegasus from brushing through each section gently, giving more care to it than she likely ever had. Pegasus determined not to leave a single tangle within the strands, and that meant a hundred brushes on either side and in the back.

“Let’s talk about something pleasant, even if only the weather, which has been lovely as of late.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“And yet you’re going to. The sooner we talk, the less time I’ll be here, you realize.”

“It’s sunny,” she said with little inflection. But it was a start and Pegasus carried on as if she had given the blunt statement her all.

“Very. So sunny in fact, I think you might get a tan just from sitting by the window.”

Téa stretched her legs out in front of her, and Pegasus admired the way the sun streaked across them, although, he supposed it was technically the bars on the window causing the streaks.

“This is where you say something back, dear. That is how conversation happens.”

“True conversation happens with two people who want to talk.”

Pegasus nodded. “You’re right. So that just means we need to work on your attitude to bring you to the point you want to talk. How should we go about that?”

“Let us go.”

“But then you aren’t talking to me, and that defeats the whole purpose. Let’s tag team another idea,” he said, and continued brushing. Her hair had grown some. He wondered how long she would let it get before asking for it to be cut.

He wondered if she would let him do it.

“You killed my best friend.”

“I did. Your best friend put you in harm’s way, and would have again without second thought if it meant saving that detestable spirit.”

“You didn’t kill Kaiba.”

“Shall I? If that’s what has you so angry, I suppose I could bring you his head. He hasn’t been putting it to good use, after all.”

“If you were going to kill any of us left, you would have by now.”

Her words were bitter and radiating with resentment, and Pegasus basked in them. Eventually, whether a day or a year, she would burn out and come around to him. He hummed again when he thought about the passion in her heated glare fading out into acceptance. It would be lovely.

“Does that provide you with any comfort? Thinking all the terrors are over?”

“Isn’t that what you’re preaching?”

“Not in the slightest, but if it gives you comfort, please keep believing it.”

She pulled away, spinning to face him and ending up on her knees. If she noticed the position, she said nothing of it.

“What is the point of cooperating if you are just going to hurt us again?”  
   
“Because this is what I want,” Pegasus said. “And the sooner you come to accept that my wants are your only law, the better off you will be.”

Taking both of her shoulders in his hands, he forced her back around to continue his work. He was less than gentle with her tangles this time, which was fine. The less hair she had, the less it would tangle.

“Sing something for me,” he said.

“What? _No._ ”

Pegasus reached around to get a grip on her chin, and used it to tilt back her head, holding eye contact long before answering. “Do it now.”

Determination grit her jaw and Téa held firm. “No.”

With a playful kiss on her forehead, Pegasus let go. “One way or another, Téa dear, you will sing for me.”

She didn’t answer, and this time, he let her get away with it. It was funny what lines his guests drew, where they chose to plant their flag for their final stand. What would singing sacrifice? Was it really any worse than living with the smell of Duke’s rot?

He finished with her hair, then ran his fingers through it a few times to appreciate the texture. It was clean, so she must not have been having problems showering anymore.

Pegasus returned the brush to the bathroom and took his seat back at the table.

“Now then, where were we?”

“You were explaining how we’re meant to accept a life of torture.”

“I don’t recall using that word.”

“You don’t use the word insane either, but that doesn’t make it any less true.”

Pegasus gave her an exaggerated sigh and propped up on a fist. “Do you ever come up with original material? I’m insane, I’m a monster, I’m going to let you go eventually—don’t you get tired of the same old stabs in the dark? Maybe repetition is the key to wearing me down, you must think.”

“You’re a sadist.”

“Oh, bravo. A new word.”

The little pinches of anger around her face were adorable, especially now that she wasn’t bothering to hide them. She used to, back before their game, and now she had given up in the one area Pegasus would rather she hadn’t.

“You had a soul before. What happened to it?”

“You buried her.”

Téa hardly waited a beat.

“She would be disgusted by what you’ve become.”

It drew Pegasus upright, all traces of coddling gone.

“Why, Téa. I didn’t know you wanted things to go like that.”

He went to the door and called for Croquet, who bowed to run out and fulfill Pegasus’s requests. There hadn’t been too many, really. The most important, which Pegasus wasn’t sure they had on the island, was a tape recorder, although a cellphone could do the job as well.

“Like what?”

Pegasus clicked his tongue a few times while he looked over her kitchen, opening the fridge and then the pantry. He really needed to keep wine in here, in all of their rooms.

Well, Mokuba didn’t have a room, and he couldn’t get into Ryou’s, and Seto was in the makeshift hospital. Maybe outside of their rooms then.

“Like what?” Téa asked again.

Pegasus planned his schedule for the next several days, deciding right then that he needed a vacation from work, and that tomorrow would be spent entirely by his pool, a white wine spritzer every other hour. He could do that if the weather was nice, and if not, paint from the tower. Painting had lost some interest for him, but with the rumors surrounding everyone’s disappearance, his cards were selling more. Maybe he would release a new pack. It had been a while since he had done anything with zombies.

When Croquet returned, Pegasus waved him in.

“Do you know if it’s supposed to be clear tomorrow?” Pegasus asked. He took the unlit torch from Croquet so he could get the phone set up to record.

“What are you doing?” Téa asked.

“I believe it will be, Master Pegasus.”

“Have someone check the pool to be sure it’s clean. I’ll need the chair set up beside it first thing in the morning.”

A minute later, the camera was ready, and Pegasus took the lighter.

“Sing for me, love.”

Her eyes widened when he lit the torch, and rather than obey, she backed up against the bed in the worst escape attempt he had seen, and he had seen every episode of Funny Bunny.

“Nothing? All right. Croquet.”

Croquet rounded the table to take Pegasus’s spot on the bed, pinning Téa against it, which truly seemed where she wanted to be, as she struggled to get away from him.

“Sing for me.”

She didn’t, which Pegasus hadn’t thought she would, and he took her ankle in hand, trailing a finger down the freshly healed sole. The scars still looked painful.

But she should have sang the first time.

The smell of the torch against her foot overcast Duke’s corpse in the next room over, and Téa’s screams bellowed beautifully. Pegasus left the torch in place to continue eating through her skin, and calmly ordered, “Sing for me.”

He gave her a break before starting on the other foot, but not long enough for her to control the sobs. And then the screams picked up, louder this time. Pegasus made certain that she was the camera’s focus, to capture every moment.

She would watch this over and over until the point stuck.

“Sing for me,” Pegasus said, this time after giving her enough time to draw in five or six deep breaths. Her body was limp against Croquet’s hold, so Pegasus dismissed him, services no longer necessary. She was dependent on the bed now to keep from collapsing to the floor, eyes closed and head lolled.

“Téa, don’t make me—”

Her voice was weak, but Pegasus made out enough of it.

_—and I would walk five hundred more—_

She was unconscious before the end of the chorus, but Pegasus let the phone record a few seconds longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Your comments are always appreciated.
> 
> You can expect an update around August 5th.


	8. Chapter 8

Mokuba's song echoed down the tunnel when Pegasus approached with dinner, accompanied by a dull thrumming as the iron bars penning him in vibrated. He rocked, his folded, bare legs knocking the bars every time, and Pegasus shined his flashlight to find him riddled in purple. For a moment, he listened to the song to see if it was Mokuba's attempt to express his pain, but with what little Japanese he knew, Pegasus could only make out something about snow.

"Hush now. I'm here."

Mokuba's rocking and singing went on.

"You could at least sing in English," Pegasus said, kneeling to take his place in front of the bars. "Maybe I could join in."

As always when Pegasus brought down the light, Mokuba left his eyes softly closed. His head lulled side to side with his song, making the places where his dirty hair matted to his face all the more obvious. Ryou's hair had done the same, and Pegasus reached through to brush it out of his eyes.

"You need another bath, little frog."

The song stopped so Mokuba could pop his lips together once, and when he started again, Pegasus picked out a brief, "Niisama."

"A song of anger this time then," Pegasus said to Mokuba's peaceful expression. "At what point will you forgive him for what he has done to you?"

Pegasus opened the door he never kept locked and reached in, taking Mokuba into his arms to draw him out. Pegasus had long since gotten over the smell, and he drew Mokuba against him despite it, although he kept trying to rock.

"Don't struggle. I'm not Seto."

Dinner would have to wait. Mokuba was filthier than Pegasus thought he would be, and maybe giving him a bit of time would bring him back to his senses.

"It's been so long since we've spoken," Pegasus said, standing carefully. "I want to know what's going on in your thoughts. Are they consumed with me or imaginings of a sled and a hill?"

Mokuba’s eyes opened, unfocused at first, and then fixing in on Pegasus’s collar. He remained limp in Pegasus’s arms, pliable and willing to let Pegasus move him around any which way. His song stopped when he opened his eyes, so Pegasus filled in the silence with a tune of his own. 

The nearest bathroom was in Ryou’s old room, and that was their destination. He kept it clean in preparation for Mokuba moving in, although they were still a long ways off from that inevitability. Little Mokuba was too fragile to live in that pit, but now that his mind was open to an outside opinion, it wouldn’t been too much longer, Pegasus hoped. His times spent with Ryou in here had been delightful before he gave into his desire for trust.

“I think I have bubbles tucked away somewhere. Would you play with them if I put them in? No? You’re a little too old for that now, I take it. Now that you don’t want to be Seto when you’re grown, who will be your inspiration?”

Pegasus put Mokuba into the tub before turning on the water, mostly to free his own arms, but also to test his reaction to the cold. Mokuba pulled his legs in, almost absentmindedly, while he turned his head side to side with dull eyes. But before too long, his toes stretched out and eased into the growing pool. Pegasus left the drain open while he waited for the water to warm, and gently began to pour some of the water over Mokuba to rinse him off. 

“Now tell me if it gets too hot.”

Mokuba’s head was tilted as far to the side as it could go. It looked like it would have hurt his neck, but it could have just been the only way to stretch his shoulder in the straitjacket. 

“You look so tired. Croquet is washing out your room right now. When we get back, I can let you lie down for a while. Should we nap?”

Pegasus washed his hand before cupping Mokuba’s face in his hand. “Mokuba, do you hear me?”

Mokuba didn’t normally stay gone this long, but Pegasus was tending to take longer between his visits. He wondered if music would help combat the darkness. Everything he had read—too long after beginning his dungeon visits—suggested that complete darkness would have these effects. 

He thought Mokuba stronger.

“Mokuba. Speak.”

“Seto.”

Even in obedience, this lot always knew how to strike a nerve. 

“I know,” Pegasus said, and lowered his hand. “He won’t be able to hurt you anymore. You have nothing to fear from him.”

A soft groan slipped between Mokuba’s lips. For a moment, it seemed as if he was fighting the straitjacket, but Pegasus knew his muscles were too far gone for that. While he had taken out Ryou’s arms from time to time to let him stretch, Pegasus refused to take the same risk with Mokuba. 

If anyone could make him change his mind about all this, it was the boy before him.

“Remember when you made me cupcakes?” Pegasus asked, and plugged the drain. “I had never witnessed anything so touching, well, not in some time, at least. You reminded me why I go through all this. Now don’t tell me you’re all gone after just a few weeks.”

Mokuba’s head lulled the other way, feet still rubbing against the tub floor, lightly splashing at the water. The twinkle in his eye, that mischievous glint that had always been visible before, had disappeared early on, and every so often, Pegasus convinced himself he saw it again. 

Not this time. Right now, Mokuba was lost in his own thoughts. What Pegasus wouldn’t have given to have his eye back for a quick peek inside. Who was it full of?

“Why don’t you sing some more? I’ll learn Japanese and we can sing together.”

Mokuba fell to the side, and his head snapped against the shower wall. Pegasus reached out quickly, bringing him back and turning his head to check for an injury. 

“I need you to tell me if this hurts.”

“Seto.”

“Yes, I know Seto hurt you. Tell me about your head.”

But the only word out of Mokuba’s mouth was Seto’s name. 

“I don’t think we’re ready to talk about him. I’m sorry for mentioning him at all. From here on,” he said, trying for a better angle, “I promise it’s just me and you.”

Pegasus didn’t find any blood or instant bruising and told himself Mokuba was fine. The bruises mottling his legs grabbed Pegasus’s attention. He should line the bars with padding to keep them at bay. They would dirty just as quickly as Mokuba, but they were easily replaceable. 

Of everyone, Mokuba wasn’t. 

Once the tub filled, Pegasus cut off the water and took down a wash cloth to scrub at the dirt caked on to Mokuba’s neck. It took several passes to find clean skin, and Pegasus rinsed the rag, letting a cloud of dirt out into the tub. 

“I did always regret not building that room in stone. I could have brought them in. How much more uncomfortable could the stone be than dirt?”

“Seto.”

Pegasus popped Mokuba’s mouth. 

“We made a promise, you and I. No talking about him until we’re both better equipped to discuss what he’s done to us.”

The splashing was softer with Mokuba’s feet submerged, but when he picked it up, Pegasus put a calming hand on his knees to still them. Once they stopped, Pegasus took the rag to them, because Mokuba’s legs were grimier than anything else. They had been soaking for several minutes, and washed off easily into the muddy water.

Mokuba tensed when Pegasus grabbed the moveable shower head to wash out his hair. Loose strands stuck to Pegasus’s fingers when he ran them through, and he kept stopping to unwind them. 

“I think I’m going to cut your hair,” Pegasus said. “This is too much to keep up with.”

Pegasus messed with it a bit more while he was considering it. “I mean, it will always grow back if I change my mind, but too much will fall out as it is. Just say the word if you mind.”

As a response, Mokuba’s head fell forward.

“Perfect. We’ll give it a cut once we finish here. And you know what? I’ll send you back down with a sheet or something. Maybe I can line the walls with them too. Would you like that?”

Seto’s name left his mouth again, and Pegasus gave him another light pop. “That isn’t an answer.”

Pegasus sighed and went back to rinsing out his hair. “What will it take for you to realize he isn’t here anymore? He’s gone, Mokuba. He hurt you so I got rid of him. I’m going to take care of you.”

“It’s a dragon and a moon.”

It had been at least two weeks since Pegasus had heard that much from Mokuba, and he smiled to encourage it. “What is, dear?”

“To fly.”

“Where are you flying to? All the way to the moon?”

“High, high, high, high—”

The chant went on while Pegasus rinsed, and he kept his motions gentle to ease Mokuba back into speech. He twisted Mokuba’s hair around his fingers for a moment while envisioning it short, and decided it would look darling. 

“The moon is very high. Would a dragon get you there?”

“Seto.”

Pegasus cut off the water and reached down to unplug the drain. They had been so close to a real conversation there, but even the few moments promised more to come. They played out in Pegasus’s thoughts before they happened, something more to hope for.

He had to rinse Mokuba off one more time once the water drained, and then guided him out. Mokuba’s legs were almost too weak to hold him up, so Pegasus let him sit on the side of the tub. He kept an eye out to be sure Mokuba didn’t topple. 

A quick call to Croquet brought down scissors, and after brushing Mokuba’s hair straight, Pegasus began cutting it off. 

“You’ll look so much more grown up like this. I’m not sure if I’m ready for it, but I’ll do what I can. You’ll look wonderful, but older.”

“High, high.”

“That’s exactly right. What a good observation.”

The bathmat and tub were littered with hair when Pegasus finished, and he ruffled Mokuba’s hair to get a better idea of what it would look like dry. It framed his face well, although a bit long on one side. Pegasus made a few adjustments before putting the scissors in the top of the linen closet.

“Perfectly darling, just as I knew you would be. And think of how much easier to clean it will be.”

“Too far.”

“Is it? I wouldn’t think you see any limits. You can do anything, can’t you?”

Mokuba’s head bobbed either way, likely adjusting to the lesser weight, if Pegasus had to guess. He might have taken off too much, but in the long run, Mokuba would be better off with his hair like this. If Pegasus got a headband, he could keep the rest out of Mokuba’s eyes.

“Now, let’s go have dinner.”

To exercise Mokuba’s legs, Pegasus put an arm around him and had him walk out of the room and back down the tunnel, toward the dim glow of the flashlight. Mokuba’s stride was uneven and required too much direction, but soon, he wouldn’t be able to stretch at all. Pegasus refused to take this boy’s legs from him on top of everything else. 

“You’ve been so good today. I’ll bring you a special dessert tomorrow as a surprise. It can still be a surprise even if you know, because I’m not telling you what exactly the dessert will be.”

They did another lap before Mokuba had to sit down, and Pegasus brought him into his lap to guide each bite into his mouth. Some of them went down easily, but when Mokuba began talking, he couldn’t stop for a bite, not when the moon and a dragon were on his mind. 

“Is it snowing in your scene?” Pegasus asked, and tried to work in the next bite. The stone wall behind him was rough against his back, but Pegasus refused to complain, not when Mokuba’s bare thighs were exposed to it. The hours of grinding against the stone had worn into scars on his legs.

“Our world is going to be so big,” Pegasus said. “Full of everything you’ve ever dreamed of. We’ll get through this and come together in the end. I’ll give you the world, Mokuba Tomura.”

Mokuba didn’t take the next forkful, but sprawled out his legs as he hummed. 

“Seto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> You can expect an update around Sunday, September 2nd.


	9. Chapter 9

The spirit refused to relinquish control or keep quiet for days. Every time Pegasus came down, it was the spirit he came to, who cursed at him and beat against the glass with his full body. When Pegasus held down the speaker to talk with him, he screamed louder, drowning him out and making negotiations impossible.

He gave him warnings.

He offered anything he could.

The spirit never budged, and Pegasus tired of it quickly. He kept them here for company and not for a warm body. Ryou’s body couldn’t have even been warm while possessed by a demon.

And that was enough.

Croquet came when he was called, and together, they filled the room with a sedative, having to wear masks themselves so they wouldn’t be affected by it, and then the wall came up.

Pegasus stood over Ryou’s unconscious body. His head lolled uncomfortably to the side, and Pegasus was certain the angle would leave a strain. It was Ryou who would feel it when he woke, but at least he would wake as himself. And alone.

Kneeling, Pegasus pulled back Ryou’s shirt and took out the ring. When he backed away, he held it at a distance.

“Take care of him,” he ordered Croquet. “I’ll be outside.”

The setup had to be flown in from the mainland, and had cost more to build here than the glass room. But Pegasus was fed up with the ring and the spirit’s antics. The fire outside was hot enough, and the crucible hanging over it had been heating all morning.

He carried it upstairs, down the series of long hallways and corridors, out the double doors at the front, and then down the winding steps leading to the beach.

The furnace had been set up by the dock, and two guards manned it to keep the flames high and hot. With little ceremony, Pegasus got as close to the fire as he could, and tossed it into the crucible. It was too large for him to see to the bottom, but hot enough that melting the gold down into nothing wouldn’t take long.

Would that be enough? Would he still possess a lump of gold?

Pegasus hoped the spirit melted with it, and that he felt every moment. Again, Pegasus wished for the eye, now for the single reason to find the spirit’s soul and to listen to him scream. After everything he had done, to him and to Ryou, he deserved to burn.

They waited several minutes before checking on it, and finally tilted the side to check. The gold was molten and ready. Carefully, the two guards poured it into a mold, shaped in a simple half sphere. Once it was cool, they would take it out to sea and let it sink to the ocean floor.

Pegasus would like to see that try to make its way back to Ryou.

There was no reason to get on the boat with them, and the men could handle dismantling the furnace and getting it back. They could drop off the useless mound of gold on their way and save a trip. Pegasus had been sure to let them know that the metal was cursed and that selling it would only come at personal expense. He didn’t mention if they were caught trying to pawn it off, he would become their curse.

He gave Croquet time to get the glass room back in order before going down and waiting on Ryou to wake. The wooden chair in the hall had been replaced with a cushioned one now that he spent more time down here. He was glad to see Croquet put Ryou in bed, where he looked much more comfortable.

When he came to, Pegasus stepped up to the glass to turn on the speaker. “Ryou? Can you hear me, lamb?”

His groan was garbled, but didn’t sound as angry as the spirit had been over the last several days. Pegasus took it as a good sign, and let the anxiety dissipate. It worked. Ryou was back.

“How do you feel? Can you tell me in detail?”

“What happened?” he asked, and tried to sit up. The sedative must have left him dizzy, but he had finally stopped wincing when he put weight onto his hands. His fingers healed well thanks to Pegasus’s constant attention. Ryou had been getting better at using them too, holding his toothbrush, picking up cups, and even turning the pages in a book.

“The spirit kept you possessed, for days, Ryou. Were you able to watch any of it? Hear anything he was saying?”

“No, at least, I don’t...I can’t feel him.”

Ryou focused on the far wall where the bookshelf was mounted, and didn’t say anything more for the duration of his stare. Multiple emotions passed over his face, mostly forming around his lips, and resulted in several pleasing frowns before Ryou broke his reverie.

“What happened?”

“I found a way to take care of our problem. He’s forever gone.”

And if he wasn’t, Pegasus would take care of it. Again and again and again.

“How? I don’t understand. He was just, he was here. We were talking and—”

“You said you hadn’t heard him in days, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know. It all, it blurs together. But he was talking. He was always talking.”

Pegasus went back for his chair and pulled it forward to get as close to the wall as he could, to make it more personal. He had expected Ryou to be thrilled, not for him to sound so confused and unsettled. Had the spirit held such control over him? Were they too intertwined for an easy release?

“Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Nothing. There’s nothing.”

“Now, I don’t believe any of that. You have plenty of independent thought. A few years without a full mind to yourself doesn’t mean there isn’t anything else left of yourself.”

Ryou turned his palms upward, and the nubs left on his hands twitched, like he might have been trying to flex his fingers into fists. He stared at them, and Pegasus realized that he hadn’t made eye contact with him since waking up.

“He’s gone,” Ryou said. “He’s gone.”

“He’s gone,” Pegasus agreed, “And now we can start moving on from it.”

It was good news. Why couldn’t Ryou accept it as such? After all of the lengths Pegasus had gone through for him? After dragging a full working furnace out to the island for a few hours of use to get rid of the one thing constantly trying to kill him?

“I can’t feel him.”

“I know,” Pegasus said, a little more slowly since he felt they had well established this. “He’s gone, and that means you won’t feel him anymore.”

Ryou got up and, still looking at his hands, and began pacing around the room, into the bathroom, and back out, like he decided to search out the spirit rather than just accept his departure. He made several laps of the space before coming up to the glass and finally looking at Pegasus.

“How did you do it? Did you get back the eye?”

“I took the ring out of the equation.”

Just like he had done with the puzzle.

“And he’s gone?”

“Why, Ryou, I thought you would be thrilled by this. You’re just like everyone else now. I’ve completed your exorcism.”

There was a short moment that followed when Pegasus thought Ryou was going to cry. He saw the tears build, but given the intensity of this moment for Ryou, couldn’t tell if it was elation or defeat.

* * *

 

Every day Pegasus visited, Ryou talked to him a little more. It had taken him a while to move past the fact the spirit was no longer with him, but once he accepted it, Ryou gave up the past just like Pegasus knew he would, and their relationship truly began.

“Good afternoon,” Pegasus said when he came down, and smiled when Ryou rushed to the glass.

“Did you bring it?” he asked, with actual excitement in his voice.

“I did. And I do have to admit, I might have gotten a jumpstart on this one. The summary was too compelling to put down.” 

Pegasus slid the book through with Ryou’s dinner, and Ryou sat right in front of the hatch to start eating. He did flip through the book, although his flipping was more pushing a few pages to the side, and then he read the back cover. He got such joy from their little two-person book club. Pegasus couldn’t imagine ending it.

“How far along are you?”  
  
“About a fourth of the way in. The inciting incident will grab you and refuse to loosen its hold.”

Pegasus ate with him now daily for two of the three meals. Occasionally, he came back down for drinks, and after weeks of trying out different ones, Ryou determined that a white zinfandel was his drink of choice. Pegasus didn’t care for it more than his reds, but it gave him the perfect chance to make room in his wine cellar for the ones he did want.

“I’ll catch up with you tonight,” Ryou said. “No matter how far ahead you read.”

“And what if I stay up reading?”

“Then I’ll finish it.”

“At the rate you go through books, I’ll have to start our own little Alexandria.”

Ryou’s laugh was honest, and Pegasus reveled in it. There was no reason for Ryou to lie about anything any longer, and between the two of them, things were exactly how they were always meant to be.

“This one will last the test of time,” Ryou said. “I’ll need another bookshelf.”  
  
“You’ll have a better room than this in a few years. We can cycle through all your books if you like, so that by the time you get up there, it will be wall to wall titles we’ve read.”

“Maybe with one of those library ladders?”

“How else will we reach what is on the top shelf?”

Ryou had taken a bite that was too big to get down quickly, and he gave an apologetic glance while he chewed. Maybe before, he might have held out a graceful finger to get across the same sentiment, but he was sincere and that was enough. These moments they had together would always be enough for Pegasus.

“I’ve been thinking,” Ryou said, just before he swallowed, “That rain sounds would be nice for a while, rather than music, Or maybe shuffled in.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. I’ll get some to put into your mix.”

Ryou never cursed, never argued, and always deserved the music that had been fought for so desperately when Seto was the one down here. Whatever he wanted, Pegasus would grant to him, and maybe with something extra tossed in for good measure. Ryou liked desserts. Pegasus might bring him down a whole tray of a various assortment, and claim they were a ‘just because’ gift.

Then again, it might not have been a claim, but the truth.

“Sometimes I think I can tell we’re on an island,” Ryou said.

“We are, but I take it you mean something else?”

“It’s like I can feel the world moving under me, floating over the sea, at whatever fraction of a percentage land masses move every year.”

“I would expect that, if that were a thing that could be felt, you would get it more on shore, rather than underground,” Pegasus mused. “Although, I can’t say I’ve ever sat still long enough to give it a fair shot. Maybe I have been overlooking it for all this time.”

His nods came quickly, and Ryou ate even quicker. Pegasus wondered if he wasn’t feeding him enough, but breakfast and lunch were both full meals, perhaps even more than Ryou should have been eating in a day, and he always ate everything he was given. If Ryou could have opened boxes and wrappers, Pegasus would have left him with non-perishables.

“Want to try?” Ryou asked.

“It’s worth a go.”

After setting his plate aside, Ryou crossed his legs at the ankle and placed his hands on his knees. Pegasus matched his posture, expecting something yoga related, and thought about throwing out a few ‘ohms’ for good measure.

But Ryou simply sat still, a quiet peace on his face. Pegasus didn’t close his eyes like Ryou, but watched him for signs of what he needed to do next. They would never feel the island moving. Ryou might have been feeling something else, like a broken furnace or collapsing tunnel. For either of them, Pegasus would need to investigate. But he would wait to feel what Ryou did.

They were in sync now. Pegasus would feel whatever it was.

They took about two minutes, Ryou’s head swaying side to side as though there was a song playing in the background, and then Ryou’s eyes opened, meeting Pegasus’s gaze right away.

“Can’t you feel that?”

Pegasus had felt nothing.

“I did. I wonder what other marvelous things are out there waiting for me to discover them, if only I take a minute of silence?”

“Maybe our next book can be something on that. I’m sure the people who devote their time to witchcraft will have something, being attuned with nature. They have the advantage.”

Pegasus couldn’t have thought of a more boring book to read.

“I’m sure I can find something. My library might not currently have it, but I will have a whole section on the topic before the month’s end.”

It would tickle Ryou to have them all at his request, even if Pegasus never looked at any of them. What was the harm in him feeling the earth moving? He had to pass his time somehow, and this was so much better than the spirit attempting to beat down the glass. Ryou rarely even touched it.  

“I’m sure you don’t want all of those in your library,” Ryou said. “You can just put them in mine.”

“Very well. And you know, when you are in your new room, I’ll give you a computer where you can pick out all of the books you want, new, old, first editions, limited releases, and we’ll have them sent here for you.”

He would be able to trust Ryou with the internet. Pegasus had always known Ryou would be on his side once that spirit was out of the equation. And now that weeks had flown by with no signs of the ring’s return, they both knew their confidence was secure. They could be happy now.

After dinner and two hours of conversation, Pegasus had to pack up his things to go upstairs. He had stayed longer than he intended to, and was late getting to Seto, which he supposed was fine. He could just buzz up and have him fed through a tube again. The conversation with Ryou had been so pleasant, he lost track of the time.

Ryou stood when he did. “Do you really have to go?” he asked, and gave the hallway a quick, anxious glance.

“I do, but I’ll bring down some wine in an hour or so, and we can pick up here. How about that?”

It would be the best part of Pegasus’s day.

“You could call for it down,” Ryou said. His words were a little faster. “And stay the extra hour. Tell me about Egypt again. You must have left out an adventure.”

Pegasus rearranged the tray for optimal balance.

“I’ll cut down my absence to as little time as possible. I really do have to make at least one stop first, and then down to the cellar to get the wine. I’ll turn on your music.”

“You have people who can do all of that,” Ryou said, but Pegasus was already moving toward the speaker system. He wasn’t going to turn it off, but did need to turn up the volume on the music again before he left.

“One hour,” he promised.

Ryou kept talking to him while he walked away, and Pegasus let out a content breath while he waited for the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and all of your feedback! It means so much to me. 
> 
> You can expect an update on Sunday, October 7th.


	10. Chapter 10

Seto lost himself with the number of books. He spent so much of his free time counting, and lost track of how many it had been. At first, he debated how Pegasus recorded them all. Was it actually him narrating? Was it a computer program? AI? There had been too many books and only Pegasus’s voice and Seto couldn’t count anymore.

When he tried, the voice in his head wasn’t his.

He felt _them_ around him. Rolling him side to side, checking the catheter and his IVs, feeling his heartbeat and making sure he was alive—Seto felt it and couldn’t do anything but lie there and listen to Pegasus narrate, trusting their constant returns to prove he was still living.

And when he was at his weakest, exhausted and finished, Seto listened to the stories. Eventually, they became a comfort, which he told himself was because the endings were so easy to predict. It could have been that, or it could have been that timelines were easier to follow in fiction than in his life.

How long had it been?

Two days?

A week?

A month?

Pegasus’s voice never droned, but went on with enthusiasm through every story. It couldn’t have been a computer program because the inflections were all right, but Pegasus also couldn’t have recorded them, since there weren’t enough hours for the sheer number of books.

_How long has he been planning for this?_ Seto had asked himself once, but never again. The words were muffled through the narrative, and easily forgotten.

Between attempts to count and desperate, silent pleas to the doctors, Seto tried to breathe. He must have been breathing when he wasn’t paying attention, but when he was, every inhale was a struggle, and every exhale too strong. His chest wanted to rise and fall as normal, but the collar cut off his ability to breathe manually, leaving him floundering to take his mind off it.

At least he had the Pegasus’s voice to help him.

Feeling someone taking off the headphones startled Seto out of the middle of _The Grapes of Wrath_ , and once they were off, there was still nothing he could do. He thought the hands might move to the collar or to the blindfold, but they didn’t come back. And Seto waited for anything to happen, for more than the hum from the equipment in the room to keep him company, and for a long while, nothing came.

Until Pegasus spoke.

“Forgive me,” he said, in a tone unlike Seto had heard from him before, nothing like anything from any of the countless books he had listened to. “I made such grave decisions with my life and freedom.”

Seto angled his head to the voice, waiting for the collar to come off, but it didn’t. Pegasus must have been talking to him, but he had taken away every means for Seto to reply.

“I understand that, Seto, but it doesn’t change what happened.”

He could hear the stool being pulled up to the bed, and then felt Pegasus take his hand, still restrained.

“But I’m so sorry,” Pegasus went on to say. “You were right this whole time while I was being ungrateful.”

What was he doing? Seto struggled to think of any justification and came up short. Was Pegasus talking to himself? Was there someone else in the room? Seto hadn’t heard any other footsteps, but they could have come in before Pegasus took off the headphones.

“Now, Seto, I appreciate your candor. You know, if you had been this upfront from the start, you could have saved yourself a slew of tribulation.”

Seto tried to follow the sounds to track what Pegasus was doing, but he wasn’t doing much more than talking. He must have been sitting on that stool since Seto couldn’t feel him on the bed. But the silence between sentences was too much, and Seto found himself desperate for sound.

And Pegasus’s voice had become too familiar.

“I know. I know and I am simply in _pieces_ about it. How can I ever express my guilt and repentance for what I’ve put you through?”

Pegasus took Seto’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Words will never be enough for that. And I’m afraid, Kaiba-boy, you don’t have any words left.”

It clicked and the collar tightened, leaving Seto desperate for words and for breath. Pegasus’s hand in his stayed steady. Seto squeezed it as tightly as the collar squeezed his neck, pouring everything he needed to say into the grip. He needed the collar off, he needed to speak, he needed to tell Pegasus everything he wanted to hear.

“I don’t want to do this,” Pegasus said. “Can’t you see this? All I care about is myself.”

He couldn’t get any air. The collar constricted him and Gozaburo had his hands around his neck, looming over him. His shadow blocked out Seto’s vision and caused the blackness he knew was really due to the blindfold. But it wasn’t the blindfold. It was the shadow stretching and he couldn’t breathe.

While Seto suffocated, Pegasus mocked him.

“I know you do, Seto. I know, and that’s what I’ve been trying to get through to you. It’s good you can finally admit it to yourself.”

He didn’t have the books to distract him and couldn’t get his mind off the collar or Gozaburo’s memory. Gozaburo—no, _Pegasus_ —only stroked another hand over the one holding Seto’s, with no effort to solve the root of the problem. The collar had to come off.

If it came off, he wouldn’t talk. Seto would have made the promise if Pegasus allowed it, but Pegasus was lost in conversation with himself.

“—you won’t see him,” Pegasus said. “Not again. If I don’t want you to see anyone, you won’t. I could take our your eyes. Take your tongue and your life. I could do it, you know.”

“I trust you to keep him safe,” Pegasus went on, now using that graveled voice. He let go of Seto’s hand and stole his ability to communicate.

The stool scraped and Seto’s panic increased. Pegasus was going to leave with Gozaburo strangling him, without the headphones to surrender to.

“You have to understand it from my side,” Pegasus went on to say in that same low voice that mimicked Seto’s own. “I’m a free bird who shouldn’t be caged down.”

“Now, Seto. You got out of the cage and did so well. That is hardly an excuse for how childish you acted.”

“The whole world is a cage.”

“So you burn it down with you in it? I thought you were supposed to be some sort of genius.”

“I am the definition of genius. My side is that I just made one mistake, and you can’t hold that against Mokuba.”

Pegasus tutted. “Your brother got into this all on his own, Seto. He didn’t have to side with you.”

“We are Kaibas and Kaibas have now become synonymous with friendship and family,” Pegasus said, and despite the circumstances, Seto calmed a bit with the absurdity of it all. It was an act and the collar was an act and his lack of breath was all a part of the show.

“I am fully put off by that,” Pegasus said, back to his own voice. “You know how much I have fought to integrate you into my own family, and even despite it all.”

Seto shook his head, even if it did mean arguing with Pegasus. At the beginning, that had been one of his first questions, and Pegasus insisted throughout their imprisonment it wasn’t why they were there. They killed his wife, Seto thought, struggling again to breathe. They weren’t to be part of his fictional family.

“You don’t know that?” Pegasus asked, and for the first time, responded to Seto, and not his mockery. “How could I have been more obvious? Should I have celebrated holidays with you...oh wait, no...or perhaps I should have moved you into my home. No, I did that too. What more would you have liked, Kaiba-boy?”

“The shirt of your back,” Pegasus said lowly, and after some more scuffling, Seto felt something tossed across his face.

“There you have it. I gave you the world and you think I wouldn’t offer up some symbolic gesture?”

Seto couldn’t turn his head far enough to the side to get the shirt off his face, and the scent of Pegasus’s floral cologne overwhelmed his senses, but also reminded him that if he could smell it, he could breathe.

“I want to understand,” Pegasus said as himself. “I do, Seto. I’ve spent too long trying to figure out why nothing was good enough for you. You’re the one who committed the sin and you threw redemption back in my face. You condemned yourself when it was the hardest option. I don’t understand it.”

The stool creaked, wheels sliding a bit across the floor, when Pegasus sat again. “I reduced myself to nothing for you. I reduced her memory to nothing. And what do either of us have to show for it? Chains, ash, and a boy buried fifty feet under the ground.”

Mokuba must have been suffocating too. He had a hole and Seto had a collar and neither of them would ever see freedom again in this madness.

He wanted the words back. Seto wanted the stories and the mannerisms Pegasus had put into his inflections. He wanted the peace that came with them, with predictable plots and grammar rules to hold everything in place where it should have been. He wanted to breathe unhindered.

Seto had to remind himself he also wanted Mokuba. Of course he did. He wanted his brother’s freedom more than anything.

But it was the desire for the books he kept coming back to.

But in lieu of them, Pegasus’s voice, even ranting, would have to be enough.

“You never did listen to me,” Pegasus said. “It’s little consolation to know you are now. You must listen so intently to everything. Searching for the distant rattling of the IV stand or the soft rustle of the bed sheets as someone else cleans up after you. Do you miss intimacy, I wonder, or are you too far gone for that?”

Pegasus laughed to himself. “I suspect you’ve been too far gone for a while. Possibly for years, before I even got my hands on you.”

One of his hands drifted over Seto’s wrist, touching so lightly, Seto thought he might have imagined it.

“No,” Pegasus said, and the stool rolled back again. “You never did give a shit.”

The headphones went on, over the shirt, pinning it in place, and the book carried on as if Seto had never left it. The words fell to rhythm and the story drifted on, and with every paragraph, Seto could breathe a little easier.


End file.
